The Children of War
by Mystical Star
Summary: Sequel to GWD. The pilots who were tested on during Operation Meteor begin to remember their pasts in violent and unwanted flashbacks. (You will definetly need to read GWD before this)
1. Anya Katsumi

The Children Of War

By Mystical Star

A Kitty-Chan Production 

**Disclaimer: **I don't own GW. I do own the new pilots. Uh, you may want to read Gundam Wing: Desecration before you read this, you won't understand anything if you don't. 

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much to Zero!! We had to re-install windows on my computer and I lost absolutely everything, including this ^^; but luckily, I had sent it to Z and she kept it and sent it back to me! Thank you so much!! Everybody must read her fics, I command thee! 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

My Lullaby Katsumi's Story 

Anya Katsumi had awakened that morning, not feeling really healthy. She had an awful headache and her equilibrium was not at it's best either. She figured it was just a flu bug or something. Despite her rotten feeling, she got up and was getting ready to join Quatre, Severina, and Duo in a nearby park for a picnic lunch, for which she was running late. 

Kat found her friends on a grassy knoll in the park, already sitting on the blanket, chatting away. There was a family nearby, also having a picnic. 

"Hey, Kat! Thought you'd never get here!" Duo waved at his friend. "Sorry about that, I slept late, I didn't get to sleep till around three this morning," Katsumi excused. She was telling a half-truth, she had gone to sleep at three because she was waking up with terrifying nightmares and night-sweats. The young woman plopped down next to Severina, who handed her a can of soda. 

"So what have I missed?" Angel's pilot asked. "Eh, not much, just some mindless conversations entailing Duo's hair," Severina stated. Kat raised an eyebrow. 

"I DO NOT dress in drag, I just like my hair long!" Duo insisted, crossing his arms. Quatre and Katsumi burst out into laughter. 

Kat looked over at the family that they were sharing the park with. She smiled at the mother, rocking her baby to sleep. 

"Hush-a-by now, it's time to sleep, think happy thoughts as you go to dream…" 

"Kat? Hello-o?" Severina waved her hand in front of her friend's face to get her attention. Angel's pilot snapped back to the real world. "Huh? What?" 

"What kind of sandwich do you want?" Severina reiterated. "Oh…I don't care," Kat murmured as she looked back towards the family. 

"Hush-a-by now…" 

"Kat, are you okay?" Duo asked. 

"I…uh," 

"It's time to sleep…" 

"Kat?" Quatre nudged her shoulder. The young woman heard the sound of a bomb going off somewhere and she fell forward into the grass. She began to shake as her arms and legs pulled themselves to her body, as if she was freezing. Katsumi began to shake her head and repeat over and over, "I won't leave, no, I won't…"  
  


Duo pulled her up to reveal her terror-stricken face. "My God," He gasped, not realizing what was going on. 

"It's gotta be the S.I.A., we need to get her to the medical wing!" Quatre decided. Duo scooped Kat into his arms and ran for the Preventer Headquarters as the other two hurriedly picked everything up. 

Kat's Dream~ 

"Momma! I want you to stay here!" A young Katsumi pouted as her mother tucked her into bed. 

"I know, sweetie, but I need to do this, it's for you," The woman reasoned. "Huh-uh, it's for everybody else," The little girl argued. Her mother grimaced and cut to the chase. 

"You're right, it is for everybody. Including you," she said, tapping Katsumi on the nose. "Keeping peace is very important for your future and your little brother's." She explained. 

"If peace is so important and good for us, then why does it take mommies and daddies away from home?" Kat asked. 

"Because war takes away more mommies and daddies forever." Her mother sighed. "Now, ssh, it's time for sleep," 

The little girl reluctantly lay down on the pillow as her mother kissed her goodnight and began to sing a lullaby. 

"Hush-a-by now, it's time to sleep, think happy thoughts as you go to dream, I will be with you for all time, keep me close in your heart…" 

_~Meanwhile…_

Quatre and Severina burst into the room where Katsumi had been placed to find Duo and Sally Po hovering over their friend, who had calmed down now. She was hooked up to machines that measured her brain waves, blood pressure, and pulse. 

"Is she okay?" Severina asked, regarding the hardware. 

"All of this is just a precaution and study, so we'll know what to do when this happens again," Sally explained. The two nodded their heads. 

"She's dreaming," Duo noted. "Yes, her brain waves are similar with that of a person experiencing R.E.M.*, although, these waves are more intense than R.E.M." Preventer Po said. 

"That's the S.I.A.," Quatre noted. Sally nodded. 

"Her reaction is different, her sensory nerves are functioning fully, but her motor nerves are coming in and out irregularly." She added. 

"I checked her medical records from her database. During the S.I.A. treatment, she had different reactions than all of the other subjects, she visited a doctor the day of one of her attacks, and the report is that she had night-sweats and felt like she had the flu. She slept a lot too that day," Duo noted as he brushed some of Kat's hair out of her face. 

"She said she slept late this morning and got to bed really late, didn't she?" The Arabic boy asked. Severina nodded. 

"How else did she react?" Sally asked. 

"Her temperature would fluctuate rapidly and she'd have seizures," came Duo's reply. "Great, seizures," Sally muttered. 

"We'll have to watch her then, if she has one she could throw herself off the bed and could hurt herself," Quatre said. "Yeah," Severina plopped herself down on the white tile floor next to the wall and ran her hand through her hair. 

Kat furrowed her brow to something in her dream and she moaned a little. Duo took the young woman's hand, hoping to offer some comfort. 

Sally looked back to Kat's brainwaves as the lines on the screen fluctuated, describing the young woman's brain activity as she dreamt. 

Kat's Dream~ 

"Wake up! We have to leave!" Katsumi's mother shook her awake. "What's wrong, Momma?" She asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. 

"We're in danger, we have to leave," 

There was a flash of orange light and the sound of an explosion. Kat could hear her brother, Taro, crying as her mother grabbed her and yanked her out of bed. 

Kat ran out of her house to see Leo mobile suits attacking the colony. "Mai, what do they want?" Katsumi's father, who was holding Taro, asked. "Me," The woman replied. She let go of her daughter's hand and took Taro from his father's arms and handed him to his sister. 

"Take Taro and run to Obasan's** house," Her mother instructed, referring to her own mother's house. . "Where are you going?" Katsumi asked desperately. 

"You will be safer if Papa and I go somewhere else, please, just run!" Her mother gave her and Taro a kiss, as did their father, before they began to run into the shadows of the houses. "When will I see you?" Kat yelled after her them. 

"We will find you, just run!" 

"I won't! Not without you!" 

"Anya Katsumi! Go now! You don't have a choice!" Her mother's voice cracked with emotion as a mobile suit stomped onto the street. It spotted Katsumi's mother, the colony delegate, and the suit took aim and fired. 

"GET DOWN!" Katsumi heard her mother scream. She began to run away but she tripped and Taro slipped from her arms. He began to cry as the Leo's ammunition hit the ground. The little girl covered her face as bits of concrete and fire hit her back. She wailed in pain. 

She suddenly realized that she couldn't hear Taro crying anymore. 

"Hush-a-by now, it's time to sleep…" 

_~Meanwhile…_

Duo jumped, surprised at Katsumi's sudden fit of screams. Sally, who had been reading some medical books, dropped her current reading selection and jumped to study Kat's brain waves. 

"Her pulse is gone up, and her brain is responding to pain of some sort," She reported. "Is that caused by the S.I.A.?" Duo asked. "Probably," Severina said, standing up and moving to Kat's side. 

"Did she have any injuries when Dr. J started her file?" Quatre questioned. Duo took a file folder off of the end table next to Kat's bed. "Yeah, she had impact wounds and second degree burns on her back. It says she was in some sort of explosion." He explained. 

"Didn't Lady Une say something about her family being attacked by terrorists?" Severina asked*** "Yeah, I think so," came Duo's response. 

Kat gritted her teeth and furrowed her brow and moaned some more. She gripped the blanket that she was under and squirmed "TARO!" She suddenly called out. Tears dripped from her closed eyes. 

Duo took her right hand in both of his and held it up to his face. _What are you seeing? I want to know so I can help you, _He took his other hand and wiped the tears from Katsumi's cheeks. 

Kat's Dream~ 

Kat opened her eyes and found herself in a bed. She lay there for a minute, and suddenly, she remembered what had happened. "Momma! Papa!" She exclaimed as she sat up. The rusty-haired girl looked about the room. It looked like a hospital room. She had an IV in her arm and was hooked up to various other medical devices. Katsumi felt pain in her back. Someone opened the door. 

A woman with icy blue hair in a ponytail and green eyes entered. "Where's my Momma?" Kat asked. The woman looked at her. "Your whole family is dead," She said bluntly. The young Katsumi gasped. Images of her mother, father, and brother flashed through her head. "No…" she whimpered. 

"My name is Murasaki, I brought you here to offer you something," the icy-haired lady said. Kat looked at her. "Will you join me in defeating the terrorists that killed your family?" Murasaki asked. 

"Close your eyes now, it's time to sleep, think happy thoughts as you go to dream," 

Kat hesitated to say yes. She'd remembered what her mother said about wars taking away mothers and fathers. But this was different; this one took away her baby brother and her parents. That wasn't right. Was it? 

"Yes," 

"Then you will call me Sensei from now on. After you are healed, we will begin your training to become a pilot," Murasaki explained. 

"What kind of pilot?" Katsumi asked. 

"A mobile suit pilot," 

**_~_**_Back to the others…_

The medical machines began to beep at a steady rate and Katsumi settled down though tears still streamed from her closed eyes. It was now near five-o'clock. 

"Hey, Duo, Quatre and I are going to get something to eat, do you want to come?" Severina asked as she stood. 

"I'll stay and watch over her," Sally added, giving Shinigami a reassuring look. "Nah, I think I'll stay here," Duo said. 

"We'll bring something back if you want," Quatre proposed. Duo thought for a second. "Sure, just bring me anything, except for vegetables," He finally said. Severina giggled. 

"Alright, we'll be back shortly," Quatre waved as the two walked out of the door. "I owe you one!" Duo called after them. Sally looked at Kat's brain waves and pulse again. 

"She's gone into a more relaxed reaction." She stated. Duo nodded. 

"It's good to know that not all of her past sucked," 

Kat's Dream~ 

A sixteen-year-old Anya Katsumi walked out of a Gundam simulator looking rather bored. Sensei Murasaki sat at a computer that was hooked up to the simulator and was studying the monitor. 

"Pilot accuracy rate: ninety-nine point eight percent. Good," Murasaki said, not looking up. 

"My reaction time's down, I stayed up late last night hacking," Kat pointed out. Her icy-haired trainer looked at her. 

"You'll have to deal with the lack of energy and try to keep your reaction time the same all the time. However, today's simulation level was three points higher than yesterdays," Sensei noted. Kat nodded. 

"Sensei Murasaki," A voice came from the door to the hallway. The two women turned to see the leader of their faction, Dr. J standing there. "I need to speak with you, alone," He said. Murasaki nodded and went to join Dr. J. 

"Meditate for a while, I'll be back in a moment," She instructed. Katsumi nodded with no intention, of course, to do what she had been told to do. The rusty-haired teen counted to herself up to thirty and then peeked out of the door. She saw her trainer and Dr. J round the corner and then heard their footsteps stop. Kat stealthily moved out of the room and then tiptoed to one foot away from the corner. 

"How exactly are they planning on doing that?" She heard Murasaki ask skeptically. "They've developed a serum that is supposed to take out a person's conscience. They're not sure how it works, however, and they want to test it on the pilots. I don't want to risk Odin, we've already decided that he should go in Wing Gundam." Dr. J. explained. 

"So what your saying is that Katsumi is disposable?" Murasaki shot back. "No, she is not. However, I do not want to risk Odin so close to commencing operations," the doctor whispered harshly. Katsumi heard her trainer grumble something. 

"You will not have a choice in the matter, these are orders from the organization. You will bring her to the medical wing, room twelve, noon, tomorrow." Dr. J. instructed. Murasaki growled. 

_I'm no guinea pig. I'm not going to let them treat me like an experiment._ Kat decided. The young woman bolted down the corridor towards the trainee wing to her room to take some things and run away. 

She entered the security code to her room and once in, she took a pair of pants, a shirt, jacket, some computer programs, and a picture of her family and stuffed them into a duffle bag. She then stuck her trusty handgun in her belt. Just as she was ready to bolt out of the base, the door to her room swished open to reveal Dr. J., Murasaki, and a few people she'd never seen before who were holding guns, at her door. Two men were holding her trainer. She had a desperate look on her face. 

"RUN!" Murasaki screamed. Kat didn't take the time to say anything, she dropped her bag and grabbed her gun and pushed past the people. She felt someone grab her legs and she tumbled to the ground and hit the white tile hard. 

"I will be with you for all time, keep me close in your heart…" 

"Damn it!" She cursed as her captors pulled her back in. One man grabbed the gun from her while another two pulled her up by her arms. Dr. J. looked at her. 

"Did anyone ever tell you eavesdropping was rude?" He joked, peering at her through his odd looking glasses. 

"No, I was too busy being trained to be a test subject," She retorted. Dr. J. laughed. 

"Katsumi, I'm sorry, when we realized that you were gone, I knew you were going to leave and he made me enter your security code," Murasaki explained, looking towards the ground. Kat didn't say anything. 

"Put her back in her room," Dr. J. instructed. He then addressed Katsumi: "You will stay there until noon tomorrow. At that time you will be escorted to the medical wing," He said, clicking his three prosthetic fingers together. Kat glared at him. 

_~10:00 P.M._

Sally Po checked the monitors one more time before turning off the lights in the medical hall. Severina and Quatre had returned with dinner nearly six hours ago. The two were sitting on chairs up against the wall; Severina leaned over dozing on Quatre's shoulder. 

"If there is a risk of seizures, she can't be alone. I'll stay with her tonight," Sally said. 

"Duo and I can take shifts, Sally. You don't need to be here the whole time," the platinum blonde suggested. 

"I can stay and watch her, you guys can go ahead." Duo said quietly. "Duo, are you sure?" Quatre asked. Duo nodded. 

Preventer Po thought it over for a minute. "If she begins to seize, somebody needs to get her on the floor away from things she can injure herself with. There's really nothing you can do while she's having one except make sure she doesn't hit her head on anything or hurt herself. If she starts to seize, push this button," Sally pointed to a red button on the wall that was attached to a cable that went above the ceiling. "That is an alarm that goes to the resident doctor's room. That's where I'll be. I might come in every so often to check on her," Sally explained. Duo and Quatre nodded. Preventer Po smiled and then left. 

Quatre gently nudged Severina awake. "I think we should be getting to bed," He laughed. Severina, too tired to argue, nodded and stood. "Duo, will you be okay alone?" She asked. Duo nodded

_~Dream_

The sixteen-year-old Katsumi sat on her bed. She had her legs pulled up to her body and her head resting on her knees. She was crying quietly. 

"What's gonna happen to me?" She murmured, fearing for what was to come. The young girl lifted her head and rested her teary eyes on the picture that she had on the bed before her – the picture of her family. 

"I'm scared, Momma," She whispered, hoping that maybe she could get some sort of supernatural advice. Nothing. 

Katsumi looked over at the digital clock on the desk next to her computer. It was ten-o-five. Another flash of thoughts ran through her head. _Will I live? Will I become a vegetable? I don't want to die, not before I can take vengeance for my family, _she thought to herself. 

"Why did this happen?!" She cried out angrily. "I want to live!" She sobbed. 

"Hush-a-by now, it's time to sleep, think happy thoughts as you go to dream, I will be with you for all time, keep me close in your heart…"

Suddenly, time seemed to speed up**. Katsumi looked at her clock again. 11:56. The door to her room whooshed open. There was Dr. J. and some of his aides. They walked in with guns in hand, keeping close watch on Kat. She hung her head in anguish and cried silently as the men handcuffed her and escorted her to the medical wing. 

~11:45 P.M. 

"Stop…" Katsumi murmured. Duo, who had been dozing on and off, was suddenly very awake. "Kat?" He asked, taking her hand again. 

"Don't…." She moaned. "Please," the rusty-haired girl whimpered. She began to cry again. 

"Ssh, it's okay," The braided American stroked his friend's hair and tried to comfort her, even though he knew that she couldn't hear him. Katsumi began to squirm, as if she was trying to escape something.

Duo looked over at the monitors and realized that her pulse and brain waves were racing.  

"She's scared?" 

Dream~ 

Katsumi kicked and thrashed as the men tried to lift her on to the stainless steel examination table. This particular table had restraints on it. 

"Let me go! I'm not just some lab rat you can do experiments on! I'm a person!" She protested. The men said nothing. Katsumi growled as she tried to break free of her captors. 

"Bastards!" She cried as she was finally slammed down on the examination table. The restraints were quickly latched around each wrist and ankle. Even then, she tried to break free. Dr. J. stood over her, holding a syringe in his hand. 

"If you would just sit still, my dear," he said, filling the needle, "This would be a lot easier on the both of us," 

"Hush-a-bye now it's time to sleep, think happy thoughts as you go to dream, I will be with you for all time, keep me close in your dreams…"

"Now just hold still," Dr. J. said as he closed in on his victim. Kat let out a sob as she tried to think straight. "I want to live!" She cried as Dr. J. stuck the needle in her arm. 

_~End Dream_

"I want to live!" Katsumi cried as she sat straight up, wide-awake. 

"Gah!" Duo yelped, startled yet again. The young woman looked absolutely terror-stricken for a moment and breathed rapidly. She swallowed and then looked about herself. 

"Duo?" She nearly whispered as tears began to stream from her eyes. "Hey, I'm here for you, it's okay," Duo put his arms around her shoulders and embraced her. "Where am I?" Katsumi asked, still crying. 

"You're in the Preventer's Medical Wing. You've been out for the whole day." Her friend explained. "The last thing I remember is being in a park…I was watching a lady with her baby when I…" Katsumi suddenly realized what she had just experienced and gasped. 

"The S.I.A. -" She said. "It wore off, I guess," Duo stated, squeezing her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked, looking concerned. Kat blinked as she looked down on the sheets she was covered in and shook her head. "Maybe…what time is it?" She changed the subject. Duo checked his watch. 

"12:10 A.M." 

"Damn," She sighed. Kat closed her eyes and held her head, apparently trying to ward off a headache. "Are you feeling alright?" Duo asked. "Okay, I guess," Kat mumbled, her eyes still closed. The young woman looked up at him with emotion in her eyes. 

"Thanks for staying with me," She said, smiling. Her friend smiled back and held her close, not saying anything. 

"… I will be with you for all time, keep me close in your dreams…" echoed in Kat's regained memory and she began to cry again. Duo sat himself up on the bed and gently eased Kat down to the pillow with himself as he tried to comfort her. 

"Duo…" She mumbled. 

"Ssh, just try to get some sleep," Duo whispered as he pulled the sheets up to their bodies. Katsumi closed her eyes and smiled as she heard her mother's lullaby once again. 

"Hush-a-bye now it's time to sleep, think happy thoughts as you go to dream, I will be with you for all time, keep me close in your dreams…"

**The End**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

**Notes**

*For those who don't know, R.E.M. stands for Rapid Eye Movement - the stage of sleep in which you dream. There's your science lesson for the day. 

**Obasan means "Grandmother" in Japanese. 

***See Gundam Wing: Desecration, chapter 9   
**The dream jumped from one point in time to another. There was nothing else important to write in there


	2. Thomas Parks

The Children of War

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, but I do own Anya Katsumi, Thomas Parks, Chun Li, and Miyabi Kenji. This particular chapter is going to be very violent with spousal abuse, course language, and blood and gore. There's a reason it's rated R! 

Author's Note: If you don't want to be completely confused, go read Gundam Wing: Desecration first. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bloodstains ~ Tom's Story

Tom, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei sat in a local bar in an L2 colony, waiting to be served. They had just arrived on assignment from Zechs to attend to some rebellious citizens complaining about a communistic government and felt like they needed a break from the long day of traveling. Well, everyone except Wufei. 

"What can I get for you boys?" the waitress who had come to take their orders asked. 

"I'll just have a beer, thanks," Duo said, having eaten on the shuttle. 

"I think I'll try one also," Quatre said being rather brave compared to his usual self. Wufei looked down at the table. 

"Saki," He said simply. The waitress wrote their orders down and then turned to Tom, who had spaced off. 

"And for you?" she asked. The former Gundam pilot snapped to attention. 

"Oh, uh, just some soda for me, thanks," he said. 

"Awe, spoil sport!" Duo joked, elbowing Tom. The young Australian laughed and rubbed the spot where his companion had nailed him, but on the inside Tom didn't feel like laughing. The idea of alcohol made him nervous, he never drank because he was afraid of what he'd do if he were drunk. He wasn't sure why, he just hated to drink. 

There was a loud crash from the other end of the bar. The four young men turned their attention towards the direction of the distraction to see a man, drunk and stumbling about. Duo laughed and shook his head. 

"Baka," Wufei snorted, turning back to the table. 

Tom was suddenly nauseous at the sight of the drunkard. His heart began to beat quickly. _Why am I so scared of him? _Tom asked himself. The drunken man caught Tom staring at him. The young Aussie locked eyes with the man and was suddenly terrified. He heard someone yelling in the background, or was it in his head?

You stupid boy! You never do anything right! Get the hell outta my sight before I teach you a lesson you'll never forget!

"Tom, you okay?" Duo asked. 

"I…I need to get outta here," Tom muttered as he pushed his way out of the bar, trying not to pass out from fear. 

James! Don't hurt him! 

He tumbled out of the door onto the sidewalk, shaking and feeling weak. "Tom?" Quatre's voice came from behind him. "Are you alright?" Quatre put his hand on Tom's shoulder and the young Aussie pulled away from instinct. He was afraid he was going to be beaten by someone. 

"I'm fine," Tom snapped, standing up on his own. He looked at Quatre, except he wasn't looking at Quatre. He was looking at a tall, brown-haired boy with a dirty t-shirt and jeans. The face was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on a name.

"Who…who are you?" Parks asked. The young man looked confused. 

"It's me, Quatre," Suddenly, the brown-haired man's image fluctuated and turned into a very concerned looking Quatre. "Are you sure you're feeling all right?" the blonde asked.

"I…" Tom's head suddenly began to pound with pain. 

"It's the SIA…" he groaned. 

At this point, Duo and Wufei came out of the bar just in time to see Tom collapse on the cement, his face contorted into a painful look. "Don't tell me," Duo said, already guessing. 

"We need to get him back to the hotel room," Quatre said. Wufei nodded and hoisted Tom up from underneath his arm. 

Tom's Dream~

An eight-year-old Thomas Parks found himself sitting on the floor of a house, playing with Lego bricks. He could smell food cooking in the kitchen, a room away. Behind him, sitting at a desk, was a young man in his teens, doing homework. The door opened and a man stepped in. 

"Welcome home, James!" A woman greeted the man as she stepped from the kitchen. "Any luck?" She asked, kissing his cheek. 

"No, Laura." James said in a gruff tone. The woman's smile disappeared. "You'll have better luck tomorrow, how about some dinner?" She asked. 

"No," the man said, sounding annoyed as he walked up the stairs to his bedroom. 

"Mom?" the young Tom asked. Laura looked down at him. "Yes, sweetie?" 

"Are we going to have to live in a box?" he asked. His mother laughed. "No, Tom. Daddy will find a job and then everything will go back to like when we were living in Australia, I promise," She said, leaning down to kiss her son on the head. Suddenly, there was a crashing noise from upstairs. 

"God dammit, Laura! Why didn't you move this boxes!?" James' angry voice screamed from upstairs. Thomas' mother suddenly looked very scared. 

"I'm sorry, James. I'll move them right away," She answered, hurrying up the stairs. There was the sound of stomping and then the sharp noise of a hand striking a cheek. Tom's brother quickly abandoned his homework and grabbed Tom, walked into the front hall closet, and shut the door. 

"Ben, is Mom okay?" Tom asked. There was the sound of crying from upstairs as James was yelling more. 

"I hope so," Ben said. 

"James, please, stop!" the cry pierced Tom's ears, making him cry.

~Meanwhile

By this time, Duo, Wufei, and Quatre had gotten Tom back to their hotel room and laid him down on the bed. Duo pulled out his laptop to access the Preventer database to see if he couldn't recover Tom's files. 

"Well, find anything Maxwell?" Wufei asked, looking over the American's shoulder. 

"Not really. It says that he had just moved from Australia to a colony in the L-2 area when he was about eight. He had a mom, dad, and a brother." 

"When he started having his flashbacks, he saw someone else besides me. Do you suppose he saw his brother or father?" Quatre wondered aloud. Duo shrugged. 

"What does the file say about his reactions to the SIA?" Wufei asked. 

"Massive headaches, body temperature fluctuation, physical outbursts," 

"What?" Quatre asked, regarding Duo's last statement. 

"He smacks you if you invade his bubble," Duo said bluntly. 

"STOP IT!" Tom suddenly rang out, tossing in his sleep.

Dream~

The door to the house swung open to reveal a rather ragged James Parks. "Dad?" Tom asked, barely recognizing his father. Tom's father looked about his son, who was sitting in the middle of a pile of Legos and toy cars. 

"Pick this mess up now!" The man slurred as he smacked his son on the face. 

"James! Don't hit him!" Laura suddenly burst from the kitchen to protect her son. 

"Don't you defend him, bitch!" James threw his wife to the ground, her forehead hitting a table, causing it to bleed. 

"Leave Mom alone!" Tom yelled. His father stared at him with a contemptible look and picked the boy up by the collar of his shirt. 

"I'll do whatever I damn well please you little fucker," 

Tom could smell something on his father's breath; it was the smell of cheap beer from the corner bar.

"Dad! Stop!" Ben, who had come downstairs from his room, demanded. 

"What is this shit?" James slurred. "My whole fucking family is against me? The one who works so hard to bring home a paycheck?" He screamed, knocking over a chair. 

"The one who puts food on the table?!" He continued as he kicked the television set. Tom took cover next to his mother, who was shuddering. Ben zoomed across the room to join them in cowering as their father continued to rant and smash things. 

"Stop it!" Tom cried softly. 

_~Back to the others_

Wufei watched intently as Tom curled up into a ball and began to shudder. "What's he doing?" The Chinese man asked, giving the SIA victim a skeptical look. 

"Reacting to a memory," Li stated, shaking his head at Wufei's lack of sympathy. 

"Men don't act like that," Wufei soughed as he crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. 

"Yeah, but kids do. Didn't you ever get scared when you were little?" Duo asked as he looked up from the computer. Wufei looked puzzled. 

"No." Wufei said coldly. Duo snorted. "Sure," 

"I'm warning you, Maxwell," The Asian man growled. Li chuckled.

Dream~ 

Tom was in his room looking at a book with Ben when he heard the door downstairs swing open and his father clamor in, drunk. James' heavy footsteps pounded as he walked up the stairs. 

"Get under the bed," Ben commanded. "But-" 

"GO!" Ben shoved his younger brother beneath the bed as he slammed the door shut and pushed against it to prevent entry. Just as their father's footsteps reached the doorstep, something stopped them. 

"James! Leave them alone!" 

"Oh Mom, please don't," Ben pleaded quietly. 

"Stay out of this bitch!" James yelled as he beat on the door. 

"NO! Leave them alone!" Laura cried as she ran up the stairs. The protective mother tried to punch her husband in the stomach put he pulled away and pushed her down the stairs. Ben and Tom could hear their mother's last cry as her head hit a stair and her body flipped over her, snapping her neck. 

There was momentary silence. Ben opened the door a little to see his father, standing over the stairs, looking at Laura's motionless body at the bottom of the staircase. Ben's eyes became wide as he stood and opened the door all the way. 

"You," Ben growled. 

"She deserved it," His father snapped. The young man trembled with anger as he lunged at his father. 

"BASTARD!" Ben cried as he punched his father in the face. James flew backwards with the force of the hit. 

"You'll pay for that," The drunken man muttered. Ben only looked at his father as he ran at him and knocked James' head into the wall, rendering him unconscious. Ben wasted no time in stumbling down the stairs to check on his mother. 

"Mom," He said, picking her up. She was cold and pale. "Oh God, no," Ben began to cry softly as he realized that his mother had left this world.

"Ben?" A small voice came from upstairs. "Tom!" The young man gasped, nearly forgetting that his brother was there.

"What's wrong with Mom?" Tom asked. "I'll explain later, we have to go," Ben said, running back up the stairs and grabbing his younger brother. "Why?" 

"We just have to, come on." 

_~Meanwhile_

"Mom…what's wrong with Mom?" Tom mumbled as his brow furrowed. Quatre looked pitifully down on his friend. 

"Hm…" Duo uttered, scratching his chin as he studies Tom's file. "What is it, Maxwell?" Wufei asked, walking back over to the laptop. 

"Well, when the file was started, it's recorded that Tom had a lot of injuries. Burns, bruises, scratches and scabs," Duo reported. 

"He was in a train accident, wasn't he?"* Quatre asked. 

"Yeah, but the report says that the bruises and not all of the scratches were caused by the accident. Some were caused by a person," Shinigami continued. 

"He was abused?" The young Arabic boy gasped. Duo nodded solemnly. 

"What caused the train accident?" Wufei inquired. "Pilot error. Two trains were heading in opposite directions on the same track. The one that Tom wasn't in was supposed to switch tracks, but obviously he forgot." Deathscythe's pilot said. 

"Tom should have a scar on his chest from the accident," He added. Wufei turned around and unbuttoned the young Australian's blue shirt. Sure enough there was the remains of a large gash, starting below his shoulder and ending at the bottom of his ribcage. 

"Ouch," Duo commented, observing the scar. Suddenly, Tom's face contorted into a painful look and his muscles contracted. His breathing became heavy and he began to cough. 

"Ben…" He murmured. 

Dream~ 

It had been three days since the two young Parks brothers had escaped from their father. Ben had landed a job on the other side of the colony working for a packinghouse and he and Tom were on their way by train. The two sat across from each other in large, red, plush seats next to a window. Tom looked out at the synthetic snow covering the colony. 

"Ben, do you think Mom's okay?" The young version of Tom asked. Ben flinched. He still had not told his younger brother that their father killed their mother. 

"Tom, I need to tell you something," The fifteen-year-old sighed, looking down at the floor. 

"Yeah?" 

Ben gulped and his voice got quiet. "When Dad was fighting with Mom he pushed her down the stairs," 

"Was she hurt real bad?" Tom gasped, suddenly wanting to go back home. 

"She's dead, Tom," Ben said finally. 

The younger boy's eyes welled up with tears and his lower lip began to quiver in a very childish, yet understandable, manner. Ben himself found it hard to fight back the tears. "C'mere," he motioned to Tom to come sit in his lap. Ben's younger brother obeyed as the tears spilled over his cheeks. No sooner had the brothers began to comfort each other, there was a loud crash and the car quaked and rocked until its passengers were thrown out of their seats. 

Tom opened his eyes to see orange flames surrounding he and his brother. People were screaming around him as the fire robbed the air from their lungs. "Ben!" the young Thomas Parks cried out, suddenly very afraid. 

"Tom!" His brother called back from behind him. Tom spun around to see his older brother with a gash in his forehead that was bleeding. 

"What's going on?" Tom asked. 

"I have to get you out of here," Ben said, avoiding his brother's questions again. Ben began to look about him for a way out. He spotted one. Somehow something had punctured the bottom of the car's floor and there was an opening small enough for an eight-year-old to pass through. Ben scooped his little brother up and began to push him through the hole. 

"Go for help," He said before forcing Tom down the hole. 

"Come with me!" Tom cried. Ben shook his head. 

"No, the hole's too small for me, you have to go for help, Tom!" He said. Tom was about to protest, but Ben forced him down the hole. Tom's chest caught on a steel protrusion and he cut himself. 

"Ben!" 

"JUST GO!" His brother's cry came from the car. Tom reluctantly sped out from underneath the train car and began to scream for help. He was rather surprised to find that there were already people from the nearby highway out of their cars and pounding on the windows of the cars, trying to save the victims. 

Since he was too short to reach the windows, Tom climbed up onto a boulder next to the wreck and began to beat on the window with a dismembered tree branch. He could see hands pounding on the glass from the other side, crying out for air.

"Please, don't die!" He called out. 

One by one, the hands began to fall underneath the glass. "NO!" Tom cried. One pair of hands was particularly small, even smaller than his. 

"Don't die," the young Australian pleaded. Breathing became harder for him as he continued to beat against the glass. He was losing blood from his wound fast.

The small pair of hands finally dipped below the glass, signaling the end of a life. 

"NO!" Tom cried with the last of his strength. He passed out from his great loss of blood and tumbled down the rock. He could hear people shouting in the distance. 

"Hey! This kid escaped the train, somebody get the paramedics, he's wounded!" 

"Ben…" Tom whispered with his last breath. 

_~Back to the others_

Tom's breathing continued to be heavy for nearly an hour. It was now 12:23 A.M. Wufei had begun to meditate nearly an hour ago when Tom's cries died down. Now only Quatre and Duo were fighting to stay awake in case something should go wrong. Suddenly, a loud beeping noise was emitted from Duo's laptop, signaling an incoming message. 

"Agh!" Duo cried, nearly falling off of his chair in surprise. Quatre jumped. 

Shinigami quickly opened the message to stop the noise. "What!?" He demanded. 

"Sorry for the late night call," It was Lucrezia Noin/Marquis. "I was looking for a status report." 

"There is none," Duo replied grumpily. Noin gave the two a look as though she was about to give them a lecture. 

"Tom went into SIA recovery right after we got in, we've been here watching him since then." Quatre said. Zechs' wife sighed out of frustration. 

"Great," 

"Wufei and I can get on it in the morning if you don't mind watching Tom, Quatre," Duo suggested. Quatre nodded. 

"Sure," 

"Alright. I'll send you the details about the resistance group in the morning. Get some rest you guys," Noin sad as she disconnected. 

"We should watch him in shifts," Wufei suggested. The other two pilots nodded. "So, who's first?" Quatre asked. At first, nobody spoke up, but someone finally volunteered. 

"I'll go," Wufei said, being uncharacteristically curious. Duo and Quatre exchanged confused looks, but agreed. "I'll go next," said Quatre. 

"Guess that leaves the last shift up to me." Duo shrugged. "We're outta here. See you in an hour or so," he added as he and Quatre left the room. Wufei nodded and sat down on the table next to the window to meditate while Tom continued to thrash in his sleep. 

Dream~ 

Tom could hear beeping noises. Where was he? Was he still lying outside the train in the blood soaked snow? Or was he dead? The young boy opened his eyes and found that he was lying on his back in a hospital bed, now staring at the dots on the ceiling. He tried to sit up, but the minute he tried to, a great pain filled his chest and he decided it wasn't such a great idea. 

"Ben," He rasped, suddenly remembering the train accident. The nurse who was in his room reading some charts jumped at the sound of his voice. 

"Doctor! He's awake!" The nurse called, dashing from the room. A few seconds later, a tall man with glasses walked in, a clipboard in hand. 

"Hello there. My name's Dr. Tsugeru. What's your name?" The man asked. 

"Tom," The boy answered matter-of-factly. 

"Is that your full name?" Tsugeru continued to ask. 

"Thomas Parks," He stated. The doctor nodded and wrote something down on his clipboard. "And how are you feeling?" he asked. 

"Where's my brother?" Tom asked, ignoring the doctor's questions. Tsugeru raised an eyebrow. 

"Brother?" He questioned in a surprised manner. He should have known that a boy that young wouldn't be traveling alone. This wasn't going to be easy. 

"Son, there were only ten survivors from that train, and they were all kids." 

"My brother's fifteen, he's still a kid," Tom reasoned. Dr. Tsugeru shook his head and sighed. 

"All under the age of thirteen," He added. Tom felt as though someone had just shoved a brick down his throat. Gone. His whole family, torn apart and killed.** His eyes began to fill with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. 

"Do you have any family that I can call? A grandparent?" 

Tom thought about that. He had no grandparents, and both of his parents were only children, however, he did _not_ want to go back to his father. 

"No," He finally answered. The doctor frowned. "Alright. You'll have to stay here while you recover. We'll find you a place to stay, don't worry," Tsugeru said as he left the room. 

A few days later, the young Tom was healed up, although he still had a large bandage across his chest. Now the question was, where to put him? 

Tom was looking at some birds on his windowsill when Doctor Tsugeru entered the room, looking particularly pleased with himself. 

"Well, Tom, I have some good news," He stated. Tom's face lit up with the hopes that there were undiscovered survivors from the train wreck, and one of them was Ben. 

"We found a place for you to stay," Tsugeru announced proudly. The little boys face lost it's light as quickly as it had come. Tom wished so badly that this was all a nightmare.

"There's a place for you in the orphanage down the street. They'll take good care of you and you'll make lots of new friends," The doctor said cheerfully. 

"NO! I don't want to go to an orphanage!" Tom protested. He had been to an orphanage once with his mother, a few Christmases when they still lived on Earth. The children looked so sad. He didn't want to look that way. 

"I'm sorry, Tom, but there's no other place for you. A good family will come and adopt you some day," Tsugeru said. 

"Dr. Tsugeru to exam room seven," The intercom bellowed. Dr. Tsugeru sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose. 

"I have to go. See you later, Tom." He said, waving as he left. Tom glared angrily at him as he left. 

"I've gotta get out of here," Tom muttered to himself once the doctor had left the room. He looked about the room, trying to find some means of escaping. He saw his dirty clothes on the table next to his bed. There was a large slash in his t-shirt where he had been cut on the train and bloodstains dripping down onto his blue shorts. He quickly jumped off of the bed, threw off his hospital gown and got dressed. 

Tom then scurried to the window to see how far up he was. Three stories high. He looked over to his bed to see how many sheets he had to work with- Not many. 

"Guess I'll just have to run for it," He said. Tom walked over to the door and cracked it open to asses his situation. There was one nurse walking towards him and he got nervous, but at the last minute she turned into another room. When he was sure that there was no one coming, the young Australian made a mad dash down the hall. Just before he reached the elevator, he heard a familiar voice call out. 

"Tom! Wait! Get back here!" 

Tom turned to see who it was when he dashed into the elevator. It was Dr. Tsugeru, running towards him. Tom stuck out his tongue and put his hands up next to his ears to mock the outwitted doctor. 

As soon as the elevators doors opened, Thomas Parks was bolted out of the hospital faster than the nurses could question him. The little boy dashed around the corner and kept on running past the hospital and everything else until he came upon a base of some sort. There was a man with a large head of gray, mushroom-shaped hair was standing outside the gate staring in. Tom, the ever curious lad, walked up to him, wondering what he was doing. 

"Who are you?" The man snapped. 

"I'm Thomas Parks," The little boy answered matter-of-factly. 

"Go away, I'm doing something important," 

"Do you need any help?" Tom asked. The man glared down at him. 

"Why would I need your help?" He asked. 

"I dunno. I don't have anywhere else to go. My family's all gone now so I figured maybe if I helped you, you could help me out and keep me away from the orphanage?" Tom grinned widely. The mushroom-haired man rolled his eyes and went back to staring at the base until a thought crossed his mind.

"Maybe you could help me…And that way we wouldn't have to compromise Maxwell…" He said aloud. Tom cocked his head as the man grinned and chuckled to himself. 

"Heh. Well then Thomas Parks, I think you can help me. Stick out your arm please," The man ordered. 

"Okay," Tom said, raising an eyebrow. "You can call me Tom by the way. Ow!" Tom said as the stranger pricked him with a needle full of purple fluid. 

"Hey why am I so sleepy, whadya do to me…" The little boy murmured as he drifted off to sleep and his world became black. 

The blackness faded away into yet another strange room with dots on the ceiling. "Where am I?" Tom asked himself. He sat up to see the strange man who had pricked him with the needle. 

"Do you remember anything?" The man asked. "What's your name?" He added. 

"My…name?" Tom stuttered. _Name…I…I don't remember my name!_

"Your name is Thomas Parks. Your family was killed when OZ planted a bomb on the train you were traveling on. I found you in the snow outside the wreck and brought you here." 

"Who are you?" Tom asked hollowly. 

"I'm Professor G.. A Gundam technician." 

"Gundam?" 

"It's a large mobile suit that allows one to avenge his family." The professor said, planting the seed of curiosity. 

"I want to learn how to use it," Tom said, his fists clenched. Professor G smiled. 

_~End Dream_

Tom's eyes shot open to reveal a white ceiling. "What?" He asked as he sat up, holding his head in his hand. 

"That's one bloody headache," He said as his head throbbed. 

"Hey, are you okay?" A voice came from the other side of the room. Tom looked up to see Quatre sitting at a laptop. 

"Yeah, what time is it?" Tom asked, rubbing his forhead. "Nine o'clock." Quatre answered. 

"Damn." Tom muttered as he tried to shake his headache away. "I've gotta find my dad," He added. 

"Your dad?" Quatre reiterated, a little confused. "I want to know what happened to that bastard, he killed my mom…" Tom said through gritted teeth. 

"I'm going for a walk," He suddenly decided, further confusing Quatre. "Are you sure you're well enough to go out?" The Arabic boy questioned. 

"I'm fine," Parks insisted as he opened the door and left. He walked out of the hotel and kept going until he came across a small park, lighted only by street lamp. Tom trod over to the swings and sat down plopped down into one of them and stared at the ground. Images ran through his head of his visions. 

"Bastard," He said as an image of his father passed through his head. 

"FUCKING BASTARD!" He cried out as he gripped the chains of the swing until his palms bled. 

**The End**

*See Gundam Wing: Desecration, chapter nine. 

**So his dad isn't dead, but maybe to Tom he is because he turned into a monster. 


	3. Miyabi Kenji

The Children of War

By Mystical Star

A Kitty-Chan Production 

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gundam Wing, but I do own the new characters from Gundam Wing: Desecration. You will definitely want to read GWD before you read this, otherwise you'll be totally confused. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Heartless? ~ Kenji's Story 

Severina was sitting in the lounge of the Preventer Housing facility when she noticed an unfamiliar woman with golden hair walk by, looking rather dismayed. Darksaber's pilot raised an eyebrow and went to investigate. 

"Can I help you?" She asked, walking into the hallway after the woman. The newcomer whirled around to reveal her tired-looking face. She looked as though she'd been crying. 

"Kenji! Where is Kenji?" The young woman asked. Severina felt her stomach lurch. 

_Shit…_ She though. 

"Let's find Heero. He can tell you better than I can," 

Heero's Room - #134 

****

Heero was packing, getting ready for Relena's next tour. He always placed himself on the top of her security team. Especially after the White Fang ordeal. He was just putting the last of his espionage equipment into his duffle bag when there came a knock at his door. 

"Who is it?" Heero asked, not looking up from his bag. 

"It's me, Severina. There's someone here about Kenji," The young woman replied, her speech slowing down when she reached the name "Kenji". Heero opened the door. There were two women standing there, one whom he'd never seen. The unfamiliar woman's eyes got wide. 

"Kenji?" She gasped. 

"No, I'm Heero," He replied, observing the woman carefully. "Kenji was my brother," Heero added. 

"Was?" The woman reiterated. Heero nodded solemnly. The golden-haired woman looked stunned as her eyes welled up with tears. 

"No…no, he promised he'd come back," She sobbed, sinking to the floor. Severina watched the stranger plop down on the floor and cry for a second, she then kneeled down on the floor with her. 

"Maybe we should go talk about this in the lounge," Severina suggested, taking the woman's hand and helping her up as she looked up at Heero and motioned for him to follow her down the hall. He nodded. 

"I'm sorry, I never gave you my name," The young woman said as she tried to wipe away her tears as Severina and Heero led her down the hall. "I'm Lena Simon, I worked with Doktor S. and Kenji on his Knight Gundam." 

Heero looked at her with a vacant expression on his face. The three went into the lounge and sat down, Severina and Lena on the couch, Heero in a separate chair. 

"Kenji never told me that he had a brother," Lena said looking at Heero with a soft expression in her eyes. 

"Kenji was subjected to SIA, a drug that causes amnesia. He probably didn't remember that he had a brother," Heero commented. Lena looked confused. 

"I know that he was under the influence of SIA, but not until one year before he left on the mission." She said. Severina looked at her, surprised. 

"So, did Kenji know that he had a brother? Or did he have actual amnesia to start out with?" She wondered aloud. Heero looked away, obviously pondering something. 

"When did you meet Kenji?" Severina asked. 

"I met him at the beginning of Operation Meteor. My father was an assistant to the Gundam engineer, Doktor S. I was in training for tech assistant, and Kenji was in training to become a pilot. We were both thirteen…"

Flashback… 

"Hey, Lena!" A voice came from behind the younger version of Lena. The golden-haired girl turned her attention from the engine she was fixing to her friend that was beckoning her. 

"Hi Meiling! What's up?" Lena asked. 

"Lena! Have you seen the new recruit for the backup pilot? He's hot!" Lena's Chinese friend uttered with excitement. Lena laughed. That's what Meiling thought about _every _pilot. "You've got to see him!" Her friend said, grabbing Lena's arm. 

"Hey! I've got an engine to fix here," Lena tried to excuse herself, but it was no use, Meiling was a strong woman and pulled her friend behind one of the Gundam, Heavyarms's, newly built legs. Meiling signaled for Lena to be quiet as they peered around the gigantic appendage. 

Lena saw one man and a boy standing there. One of the men was Doktor S., he was explaining to the new recruiter the responsibilities of a pilot, while the new pilot stood there, nodding and listening. 

"Let's move on," Doktor S. said, directing his new pilot towards the simulator room. Before they got too far away, the pilot turned around and noticed Lena standing there. The young tech assistant blushed furiously, having been discovered. The new pilot recruit made no expression as he simply gazed at Lena and then turned back around. 

"Since both Kenji and I were in training for closely related jobs, we worked together a lot He didn't talk much, but when he looked at me, I could see feelings through his eyes. Thousands of emotions that he wanted to set free, but something held him back…"

"Main reactor's not hooked up," Kenji said, not looking up from his computer that was showing all of the connections in Shenlong's body. 

Lena looked over at him, acknowledging his statement, and then went to hooking the reactor up. For some reason, she could not get the connection to work_._ The young golden-haired girl growled as she tried to figure out the problem. 

"It's still not connected" Kenji said. 

"I know it's not!" Lena blurted angrily. The young man looked at her, unsurprised as usual. He got up and walked over to her. He took her hand that held part of the wire and examined it in her hand. Lena blushed. 

"Uh," She stuttered as Kenji let go of her right hand and took her left, examining the wire. 

"You do know that you have the wrong wire, don't you?" He asked, looking at her. Lena's eyes went wide and blushed even more. 

"Oh, I…I didn't notice!" Lena gasped, trying to laugh at herself. Kenji saw her embarrassment and his eyebrow tweaked in curiosity. He then realized the source of her red face; he was still holding her hand. Kenji let go of her left hand and walked away without saying word. 

"Kenji," Lena whispered, looking after him as he walked away. Suddenly, an alarm went off, signaling an Earth Federation attack on the colony. 

"All pilots and trainees report to stations immediately, this is not a drill," A voice said over the intercom. 

Kenji sprinted for the nearest door to get to the nearest magazine. He was a designated sniper. If any Federation soldier was to come anywhere near the base, Kenji was to shoot to kill. Lena followed him, hoping to be on the espionage team this time so she could feed information back to the control room. 

The two thirteen-year-olds dashed into the magazine. Kenji grabbed a sniper gun and Lena took a headset and walkie-talkie with a special frequency. "I'll cover you, Kenji," the young woman said, putting the headset on. Kenji merely nodded as she tuned into the frequency as they left the magazine. 

"Lena and Kenji here, we're headed out on Operation 5," Lena reported into the microphone attached to her earphones. Operation 5 was the designated name for sniper duty. 

"Roger. Assume your code names, Sol and Lune," Lena snorted, amused at their names. It was obviously Meiling on in the control room. 

"Roger that," The young golden-haired girl said, shaking her head as she and Kenji reached the secret exit that lead to the west side of the building they were stationed in. "Sol and Lune to base, we've positioned ourselves on the west side of the building. Awaiting orders," Lena reported. 

"Gotcha. Remain armed and on guard. If any EF soldier comes within range, shoot him," Meiling said. 

"Copy that," Lena said. She and Kenji knelt behind some boxes behind a large hole in the wall where there used to be a glass for a window. The building they were using for a hideout was an old abandoned building with a very large, newly renovated basement where Operation Meteor was commencing. 

"Shh," Kenji hushed, pointing towards someone walking their direction. Sure enough it was an Earth Federation soldier, holding a handgun and searching the area with his eyes. Lena looked at Kenji. His eyes were focused on the target, waiting for him to come close enough for him to shoot. Before the soldier could get close enough, he stopped and began to shout, motioning at a garbage can close to a neighboring building. 

"Come out here and show your face!" The soldier called, aiming his gun. Much to Kenji and Lena's surprise, a small boy walked out from behind the trashcans. 

"What are you doing back there?" The soldier demanded. The little boy gave the man with a gun a contemptible look. 

"Hiding from the Federation! You people are bad!" The young lad said rather boldly. Lena gasped as the soldier laughed, aimed his gun, and shot the little boy in the foot. 

"Oh God," She tried not to shriek. Lena looked at Kenji. His eyes were flaring with anger as he heard the young boy's cries. The thirteen-year-old was breathing heavily, trying to hold in his emotions, but he just couldn't do it. Kenji stood and charged the Earth Sphere soldier. 

"Kenji!" Lena cried, trying to grab his foot. She missed and fell over onto the cement floor. She propped herself back up just in time to see Kenji take the soldier's communication device and stop on it. He then slugged the soldier in the jaw, sending him reeling to the ground. Lena had never seen Kenji's eyes look so hurt and angry. It scared her. 

"Federation bastard! He's got just as much right to hate you as I do!" Kenji raged as he continued to beat the soldier. "All you do is take from the colonies. You asses have no right to even set foot on a colony! Go back to your hellhole, Earth!" the young man vented. Lena ran up behind Kenji and tied to pull him off the soldier. 

"Kenji! Stop!" She cried, grabbing his waist. At her touch, Kenji's body tensed at first, as if he was going to throw her off of him, but his muscles began to relax when she didn't let go. As if he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing, Kenji picked up his gun which he had dropped on the ground, pointed it at the soldier, and fired while Lena hid her face and cried. 

Kenji walked over to the little boy and scooped him up. "We've got to get him medical help," Lena nodded. 

"Uh, what about him?" She asked, regarding the dead soldier. Kenji handed the boy to Lena and then went to hide the evidence away in a trash can. The thirteen-year-old girl took the young boy in her arms back into the building. 

"What's your name?" She asked him. 

"Jason," He said in between sniffles. 

"I'm Lena. I'm going to get you some help. Do your parents know where you are?" Lena asked. Jason shook his head. 

"Mommy and Daddy had to give me to an orphanage. I was running away to find them," He said as Lena sat him down and took off his shoe. His foot was a mess. Judging from the size of the wound, Jason may not walk again. Lena took off one of her shoes and removed her own sock, tore it into two pieces, and wrapped it around Jason's foot. 

"Lune here, mission accomplished. We have one injured civilian minor, shot in the foot," Lena said into the microphone. 

"Roger. We're sending a medical team up for assistance." Meiling's voice told her. Lena nodded and then nudged Jason to lie on the ground while she propped his foot up onto a box as Kenji walked back in. Lena looked away from him, still frightened by the look in his eyes. 

Kenji knelt down next to her and examined Jason, not ever saying anything. Lena began to cry. 

"What is it?" Kenji asked. 

"Your eyes…there was so much anger and darkness in them. I couldn't see you," she wept. 

Kenji took her cheek in his palm and brushed away the tears. Lena looked at him, surprised by his actions. "Kenji," She whispered, looking into his eyes. His eyes were soft and comforting and yet, there was a sad hint to them. 

"Hello!" Someone called out. Kenji stood. 

"Over here," He said. Four persons from the medical team came rushing over with gurney and first-aid kit. 

"He was shot in the foot," Lena said, still sitting on the ground. 

"You can leave him to us now, he'll be alright. You'd better get back," One of the paramedics said. Kenji nodded and helped Lena up and led her back to the entrance. 

"Kenji?" 

"Hn," 

"What makes you so sad?" 

Kenji stopped mid-stride, but did not turn around. "What makes you think I'm sad?" He asked, his voice unchanging. 

"Your eyes," Lena said, looking at the floor. "You may not always wear your heart out on your sleeve, but I can see everything in your eyes." She added. Kenji turned around and walked over to her. He held up her chin with his index finger. 

"What do you see in my eyes?" He asked softly. Lena looked into his cobalt blue eyes that were nearly hidden by his shaggy brown hair. She brushed his brown mane out of the way and looked into his cobalt blue eyes. 

"I see…light." She whispered as tears welled up in her eyes again. This time not from fear, but from happiness. _I can see you again, Kenji, _

Lena closed her eyes to release her tears and when she did, she felt Kenji's lips touch hers. 

_~End flashback_

Severina raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Kenji?" She asked, rather confused. Lena smiled. 

"He wasn't really the one to show his emotions. He was never really compassionate to me, but you could see all of his feelings if you watched him closely." She said, smiling at the memory. 

As Heero observed Lena, he couldn't help but being jealous. When Kenji first arrived to them with his and Trowa's Gundams, Heero had noticed something familiar about him, but couldn't place his finger on it. Heero always felt a sort of connection to Kenji, but never tried to talk to him, and by the time he realized what the familiarity was, it was too late. 

"There was always a darkness present in him that I could see," Lena said softly. Heero's eyebrow tweaked in curiousity, but he said nothing. "Like a wound from long ago…"

_~Flashback_

All of the technicians, engineers, and trainees were bustling about the hideout. It was the day of the launch for the first launch of Heavyarms Gundam. Trowa Barton, the pilot, seemed unaffected by the event and carried on as he normally did: silently.  

Kenji and Lena were both doing last minute checks on Heavyarms before it's departure. Lena was making sure all of the connections were made correctly while Kenji sat inside the cockpit, testing mobility of the limbs and if the computer systems were working correctly. 

"System check complete," Kenji's voice came over the monitor inside the cockpit down to Lena's speaker. "All systems go." He added. 

"Gotcha." Lena said, exiting the systems check program on the small computer she was working on. Doktor S,  who was behind her, nodded. 

"T-minus fifty minutes until launch then, please forward that message to the control room," the rather intimidating Gundam engineer said. Lena nodded and pushed the button that connected her to the control room. 

"All green, t-minus fifty minutes 'till launch." She said. 

"Roger that," Someone on the other end said. Lena terminated the connection and went back to her work as a voice came over the intercom system: "T-minus fifty minutes to launch! All personnel prepare themselves accordingly," 

Doktor S. crossed his arms and regarded Heavyarms. "One down, one to go." He stated plainly. Kenji, who had just descended from the cockpit, stepped next to Lena and looked up at his instructor. 

"One more?" He asked. Dr. S nodded. 

"Yes. We didn't take you in as a backup pilot for nothing. If Trowa fails or if more Gundams are needed, then you shall go." The engineer explained before walking off to finish last-minute preparations. 

Lena looked at Kenji, wondering what he was thinking. Was he scared? Excited? She looked in his eyes and saw what she had least expected. Satisfaction. 

"Kenji, do you want to pilot a Gundam?" She asked. 

"Yes," He stated, looking up at Heavyarms. 

"I think it would be interesting to pilot a Gundam, but I'm not nearly strong enough," Lena sighed, gripping the clipboard full of checklists. "I wouldn't be able to kill someone," she admitted. 

"I'm not strong either," Kenji sighed. Lena looked at him, slightly alarmed. She had never heard Kenji sigh before, much less admit to something like that. 

"What?" She half laughed, not understanding. 

"My brother would be alive if I would have been stronger," the brown-haired thirteen-year-old said regretfully as he ground his teeth. 

"He told me that when he was five, his family was attacked by the Federation for being suspected of spying. His mother, father, and twin brother were killed. He didn't tell me how he escaped. I didn't really need to know, the look on his face told me he didn't want to tell me anyway,"

As Kenji told his story to Lena, his voice grew dark and his face contorted, trying to hold in long suppressed memories. Just after he explained how his family was killed, Lena hugged him, silencing him. 

"Kenji, I'm so sorry," She said. 

"Don't be sorry for me," Kenji said, embracing her. 

"T-minus ten minutes to launch!" The intercom bellowed. 

"We'd better get going," Lena sighed, letting go of Kenji, who nodded and walked with her out of the hangar. 

_~End flashback_

"After that, he got…distant," Lena said, biting her lower lip. "He began to forget things about people. Sometimes he didn't even remember my name." She said. 

"The SIA?" Severina asked. 

"I suspected Doktor S. was doing something to him, though he never admitted to it to me." The young woman said. 

"Did he ever get headaches or ask about people from his past?" Severina wondered, resting her chin on her hand. 

"He hardly ever talked after the Heavyarms launch, but sometimes he'd remember that his family had been killed. But it's weird, he thought his brother was dead, but Heero, you're his brother aren't you?" Lena asked. Heero looked away. 

"I don't remember much," He said quickly, wanting to leave that subject untouched. Lena smiled, understanding. 

"It's probably better that way," She said. 

_~Flashback_

It was After Colony 197, and Doktor S. had just gotten word of the White Fang uprising. Thankfully, the new Knight Gundam was ready for launch in just twenty minutes. Lena was helping Kenji get ready for his first mission in a small room close to the hanger. 

"Oxygen tank?" Lena asked. 

"Full," Kenji stated stoicly. 

"Good," She said, smiling. Kenji nodded and fidgeted with his helmet while awaiting orders. 

"Kenji, why do you want to be a Gundam pilot?" Lena asked, trying to strike up a conversation. 

"Revenge," Kenji stated matter-of-factly. Lena was stunned. 

"What?" 

"Revenge from my mother, my father, and my brother," 

"Kenji…"

"I have to be strong for them, since I wasn't then," 

"Kenji, you were only a child, you weren't expected to be strong then,"

"Well I should have been!" Kenji snapped angrily. "I should have been able to save them!" He was nearly yelling as his eyes became clouded with anger and sorrow. 

"Kenji, please, don't talk like that! You can't blame yourself for this!" Lena cried, becoming frightened of him. Nonetheless, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly. 

"You don't have to be strong!" 

Kenji was surprised by her words and looked down at her, wondering what made her care about him so. 

"If you try to be too strong you'll loose yourself," She cried softly. 

"I've been lost since the day I was born," 

Kenji's words resonated off of the chrome walls and straight into Lena's heart, making tears flow from her eyes. 

"I'll be lost with you, then," She whispered, holding him tighter. Kenji was so struck by her words that he began to develop a lump in his throat. 

"Lena," Kenji whispered, putting his hand on her head. 

"T-minus ten minutes to launch!" The intecom bellowed once more. Kenji lifted Lena's face with his forefinger and looked into her eyes. 

"I promise, when this is over, I'll come and find you." He said sincerely. Lena smiled. 

"We can be lost together, then," she whispered as her lips met Kenji's in a soft, reassuring kiss. 

_~End flashback_

Lena's eyes brimmed with tears at the memory. "That was the last time I saw him," She sighed, finally releasing her anguish.

"Oh, God," Severina gasped, Lena's body shook with sobs with her memories. "I can take you to see uh…" Darksaber's pilot struggled with another word for 'grave'. Before she could finish, Lena wiped her eyes and nodded. 

"Yes, I'd like that very much," she sighed. Lena turned to Heero. 

"Heero, I'm so sorry about all of this," She said. 

"It's fine," Heero said, not making eye contact. "Sorry, but I have to get back to packing," He excused himself quickly as he got up and left the room. Lena and Severina nodded, both understanding. 

"It was nice meeting you, Heero," Lena said as he left. 

"Come on, I'll take you to see Kenji," Severina said, putting her hand on Lena's and smiling reassuringly. 

Meanwhile, Heero tromped down the hall as fast as he could, trying to walk off his memories. Although he appreciated knowing more about his brother, he didn't want to remember that night that his family was brutally killed for no apparent reason. 

Flashback~ 

It was dark when he first heard the crash. Someone was beating down the door. His mother came in and got Heero and Kenji, telling them to get out of the house through the back door. 

Heero took Kenji's hand and ran for the back of the house. Just then, they heard their mother's cries. 

"Don't hurt them! You'll have to take me first!" Both boys turned around, silently understanding that they needed to help their parents. A gun shot rang out as the boys reached the front door. Their father was laying in a pool of his own freshly spilled blood. 

"Otousan!" Kenji screamed, running at his father. One of the intruders snarled at Kenji and hit him behind the head with the butt of his rifle. 

"No!" Heero's mother cried, trying to grab the intruder. 

Bang. 

Heero's mother fell in mid stride on top of her husband, her hand halfway to Kenji's motionless body. 

"STOP!" Heero cried. 

He felt something strike the back of his neck and the world went black. 

It must have been hours before he woke up. A man with blonde hair was carrying him. 

"You awake, kid?" The man asked. 

"Where am I?" Heero asked. 

"I'm taking you with me. You can pretend to be my son, since those Federation bastards killed your family. I'll teach you how to get revenge if you want," The man replied. Heero looked at him. 

"What's you're name?" He asked. 

"Odin Lowe. Yours is Odin Lowe Jr. from now on, got it?" The man said. Heero nodded. 

_~End flashback_

Heero, who had randomly wandered away from Preventer HQ and into the park where the monument to Kenji and Hilde stood, stopped in a grove of trees just beyond the monument to see Lena and Severina there, regarding the angel statue. 

He smiled. 

You didn't die lost, Kenji. 

The End 


	4. Yamato Severina

The Children of War 

**Mystic's Note: **Alrighty peoples. I did **not** write this chapter. This chapter was written by **Crow Black Dream**, the person who came up with Severina's name and story. You should all go read the rest of her fics after you read this story. She's a magnificent writer!! Oh yes, and you'll definetly want to read Gundam Wing: Desecration before reading this. Yes. *nods*

Disclaimer: Okie, my loyal fans… *Looks at Kat smiling and her boyfriend waving a flag* -_-;; You know the drill. I do not own Gundam Wing, and some of you may catch the title of this story… 'Warning' by Incubus. I do not own that, either. Carry on. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

_Warning ~ Severina's Story_

Severina sighed as she pulled her car into the garage. She reached up, about to shut the car off, resting her chin on the steering wheel. She shut her eyes, trying to will her headache away, as well as the sense of loneliness.

Just as she was about to turn the keys back in the ignition, she noticed a small rattling noise. Raising a curious eyebrow, the young woman pulled the hood release button and stepped out of the car.

"Damn it all to hell," she muttered. "I've got to get to the airport. I don't have time for this."

The rattling seemed to have stopped by the time she had looked at the engine. The pilot went back to the cab and shut off her car so she could poke around at the engine.

For a second, Severina thought she could see a pair of eyes staring at her through the empty space under the hood.

_"Did I scare you?"_ a boy laughed.

"Gah!" Severina nearly slammed her head on the hood as she leapt backward.

_"Here, let me get that for you, Mai,"_ an unfamiliar voice said from behind. Severina whirled around.

Nothing.

_What's going on?_ She placed her hands on the car's frame with her feet about a foot apart and her head hanging.

A gunshot rang in Severina's head. She didn't so much as blink.

"Severina?" Quatre entered the garage, violin and bow in hand. "Are you alright? I thought I heard you yelp."

"I thought I heard somebody," Darksaber's pilot shook the cobwebs from her head.

"You should lay down," her comrade grabbed her hand to guide her to her room.

_"Run, Mai!"_ a girl cried.

"My name is not Mai! It's _Severina_!" Gundam 08's pilot screamed. Her eyes went blank. She stared at her friend, seemingly catatonic. She finally fell into his arms, sobbing, "Why can I remember that? Why can't I remember anything else?"

Then there was nothing. She seemed catatonic again.

"Severina, what's wrong?" Quatre shook her violently, dropping his prized violin. It crashed to the asphalt floor, a long crack growing lengthwise in the sensitive wood. He looked around desperately before forcing her to sit on the ground. "I'll be right back. Trowa! Trowa, come quick!"

The Arabic boy went off to find Barton. He ran around a corner and nearly crashed into him.

"Trowa! You gotta help Severina! I think the SIA's wearing off!"

"I'll take a look at her, but I doubt there's anything I can do. SIA recovery can't be helped."

When the two arrived back at the garage, Severina was in the fetal position, her eyes wide in horror.

"All we can do is move her to a more comfortable place, keep her warm, and make sure she doesn't hurt herself," Trowa scooped up the female pilot and slung her over his shoulder.

"Hey, don't hurt her," Quatre snapped.

"I won't. Her sensory nerves have shut themselves down; she won't sense anything."

The two walked into the living room and put Severina on the couch. Quatre grabbed a blanket from the corner and placed it over the young woman.

"I'm going to pull up her history records from her base. Watched her closely. Most SIA test subjects are suicidal," Barton began to leave.

"I thought you said her sensory nerves had shut down."

"I know. She may regain her senses, but not recall where she is."

_~*Flashback*~_

"Mai, wake up," a blonde girl flipped the lights on. A girl, only fourteen, sat up in bed, clutching the sheets to her chest.

"What's going on?" Severina, then known as Mai, asked as the blonde girl threw a pair of jeans and a tank top at the younger. "Suki?"

"Earth Sphere soldiers are here. They're after us. Get dressed."

"Why?" the fourteen-year-old pulled on her jeans and slipped the tank top over her head.

"Because we know about the Gundams."

"What?"

"They plan on killing anyone associated to the Gundams," Suki opened the window next to her sister's bed. "Including you."

She turned around the see her sister lacing up her shoes. The sixteen-year-old grabbed her sister and shoved her out the window.

A round of gunshots echoed through the secluded house.

"Mom! Dad!" Suki shouted. The only voices that responded were those of soldiers.

"Suki, what about you?" Mai shouted frantically.

"Forget about me. Mom said for you to get to the Tokyo base. Instructor H will be waiting," the older girl informed her before tossing a set of keys to her sibling. "Take Dad's car." _(I changed all of the "Dr. O's and Dr. Makoto's to "Instructor H." because he was the one who designed Severina and Quatre's Gundams. All of the original engineers survived the Peacemillion deal somehow. The always seem to make it out alive)_

"I'm not leaving without you!" Mai said stubbornly as pounding could be heard on the inside of her house.

"Run, Mai!" her sister slammed down the window frame. Soldiers burst into the room.

"Where's the other girl?" one shouted. He held a gun between Suki's eyes. She backed up until she fell on the bed.

"You can't have her," she snarled.

Outside, Mai gasped as she heard a gunshot. Her sister's blood and brains splattered on the glass.

"_SUKI!_" she screamed. A soldier looked at her cowering in the rectangle of bloody red light. He whipped the radio off his belt.

"She's outside! Get her!"

Mai bolted for the garage. Four soldiers burst out of her house, raising their weapons as they stood on the front porch.

"Stop!" one shouted, "Or we'll shoot!"

Mai barely registered it. She kept running as a volley of shots was fired. As she ran through the doorway leading to the garage, a slug embedded itself in her outer left thigh.

The girl screamed in pain, but ignored the injury and jumped into her father's convertible.

"Shit, shit!" she fumbled the keys into the ignition and turned them. The engine roared into life. She put the car in drive and floored it.

The car crashed though the closed garage door. With a thump, a soldier's body flew over the hood and windshield, landing behind the car.

"Holy shit!" she yelped.

The other three jumped out of the way, emptying clips. Bullets lodged themselves in the bumper and back of the car. One ricocheted off the windshield frame, barely missing the girl.

"Sir, all dead except one," a soldier radioed back to headquarters. "The youngest one."

"Well, find her and kill her," the officer on the other end said.

"Right."

Quite a remarkable distance away from her home, Mai glanced down at the speedometer. The needle climbed from eighty-five to one hundred-thirty as she put the pedal to the floor. She sped onto the freeway leading to Tokyo.

_~*Housing facility living room*~_

"How is she?" Trowa came back with papers. Kat followed him in. "I found her along the way."

"She was mumbling before, then she screamed. She hasn't done anything since," Winner replied.

"The SIA will cause her motor nerves to cut in and out," Heavyarm's pilot glanced over Severina before looking down at his papers.

"What've you got?" Kat asked.

"According to the base history report, her real name is Fukuda Mai. Her family was killed for Gundam knowledge, association, and operation. Her father, Kazuki, 36; her mother, Yoko, 38; and her sister, Suki, 16.

"Kazuki was Instructor H's assistant and Yoko was a technician. It was originally Suki who was chosen to be Darksaber's pilot.

"When Earth Sphere soldiers came to eliminate the Fukudas, Mai escaped. She showed up at the Tokyo base.

"Once there, she began training to pilot Darksaber. She trained in battle simulators and learned to fly planes known as defense jets. The jets were piloted by two young men, Gavin Dawes and Ido Yoshi. Darksaber began construction after Gundams 01 through 05, but before 06, 07, 09, and 10. During the Eve Wars, the United Earth Sphere Alliance raided bases in search of any secret Gundams, such as Severina's. Therefore, the base needed a minimum of two jets to defend the base from a raid.

"The first jet, also known as D-1, was shot down in such a raid. Gavin Dawes was killed. D-2's pilot was later killed in a car crash that nearly killed Severina.

"After hospitalization, Severina became somewhat pacifist. Her superiors didn't want that, so they volunteered her for SIA testing. The drug didn't work at planned, but could still be used to their advantage.

"After SIA, her name was changed to Yamato Severina so when in public after beginning her mission, she would not be recognized and hunted down for Gundam association and vehicular manslaughter."

"What was her health status?" Quatre asked.

"Physically," said Trowa, "it's plus-minus. She's been shot multiple times, has suffered numerous broken bones, abrasions, and head trauma, but she has healed quickly.

"Her health before the SIA testing, however, is very poor. Her doctors diagnosed her to have had major depression, including suicidal tendencies. She was very reckless with her life. After SIA, she was just as fierce when it came to battle, but was more careful."

_~*Severina's flashback*~_

"ID, please," a guard held out his hand as Mai eased the car up to the gate. Blood had stained the door, the seat, the floor, and her jeans.

"I don't have one. My mother just told me to come here. Her name is Fukuda Yoko. Please, just let me in so I can get to the base hospital. I'm losing blood fast," she rattled, her voice pained. She watched the guard lean over, take a look at her leg. He pressed a button and the gate slid back.

"Arigatou," the injured girl sped off toward the hospital. She didn't notice the guard talking to someone over the radio.

Mai parked the car, got out, and began limping as fast as she could toward the hospital. When she pulled the door open with a bloody hand, she was faced with base guards.

"Get down on your knees with your hands behind your head!" a coal-haired boy not much older than her barked.

"I can't kneel, I've been shot," Mai held her hands up in the air.

"Then lie face down with your hands on your head," the boy instructed.

Mai did as she was told.

"Yoshi," the young man glanced at another, "check her."

"Right," the blonde young soldier holstered his gun and patted down Mai's body.

"Can I get something for my wound before I bleed to death? Maybe a band-aid?" the girl asked irritably.

"No weapons," Yoshi informed the other boy.

"Alright. Get a doctor to dress her wound, but keep her restrained until Instructor H. arrives."

Yoshi handcuffed Mai's hands behind her back and slung her over his shoulder.

"Go get the instructor, then" he said to the other boy. He looked at the other guards. "And the rest of you, get back to your stations."

"I didn't expect him to be taking orders from you," Mai told the floor behind Yoshi.

"Mutual thing," he said as he turned and started toward an O.R. "Gavin and I are the defense jet pilots for Darksaber. We've been suspicious the Earth Sphere will find the Fukudas."

"They did."

"How do you know?" Yoshi grasped his gun

"Because I'm the only one who survived," was the answer.

"Alright, just who are you?" the grip on the gun tightened.

"Fukuda Mai. Suki's sister."

"Suki's dead?" Yoshi's voice suddenly wavered.

"And my parents, too."

Yoshi pushed open a door and laid Mai on the table. A doctor came in with bandages, scissors, and tweezers. He snipped off a bloody pant leg and picked up the tweezers.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" the handcuffed patient squirmed away.

"Removing the bullet."

"Like hell you are, old man."

"Doc, if the bullet's superficial, just bandage her up," Yoshi stood in the corner with his arms crossed. The doctor nodded and did as he was told.

Afterward, Mai slid off the table, her back to Yoshi.

"Thanks, but do you think you could undo these? I've got this weird thing about being restrained."

"I'm not supposed to."

"I'm wounded. I'm not able to do much if I were to try."

"Alright, alright," Yoshi unlocked the handcuffs.

"If being restrained is a fear of yours, you must learn to conquer it. That will be one of the first steps in becoming a Gundam pilot," a man with black hair and a pointy mustache  stepped out of the shadows with Gavin in tow.

"Gundam pilot? What?" Mai turned to him.

"You parents wished for you to become Darksaber's pilot should anything happen to Suki. And since your sister was an excellent pilot, I decided that you would be an excellent choice as well."

"If it means that I get to kill the fuckers what got my family, I'll do it. But why did the doctor treat me if I could have possibly been the enemy? And how can you be positive who I am?"

"Because we're human, unlike those Earth Sphere barbarians," Gavin answered, pounding his palm into his palm.

"Your parents both carried pictures of you and Suki with them," Instructor H. held up a silencing hand and stepped in front of Gavin. "But had I not known you, we would've gotten your identity no matter what."

"How?" Mai's eyebrow was arched.

"Blinding and torturing does the trick," Yoshi said.

"Peachy," said Mai, "When do I begin training?"

"Right now. When your training is complete, you will receive these," Instructor H. tossed her dog tags. "These were Suki's backup tags."

"This isn't right, though," Mai read the information. "That isn't her name."

"No, they're correct. When your sister had completed her training her name was changed so she would not be linked with her original identity. Her name was chosen to be Yamato Severina."

"Severina? What the hell kind of name is that?"

"A proper one. I did thorough research on her background and selected a name to fit her Japanese-Italian heritage."

"What are you talking about? My parents are both Japanese!"

"Incorrect. Your father was Italian. His real name is Severin Valerio, hence the name Severina.

"Your mother's name is Yamato Eri. She and your father changed their names when they began work on mobile suits nearly twenty years ago."

"Well, shit."

_~*housing facility  living room*~_

"What do you have on her medical background?" Quatre held Severina's cold hand in his own.

"Other than medical checkups until the age of fourteen, she has only two hospital visits. At the age of fourteen, when her family was killed, she was shot in the left leg. The bullet was never removed.

"At the age of sixteen, she was shot by the White Fang in a car. The car crashed and she was thrown from the vehicle," Trowa read from the papers.

"Go on about the car accident," Kat prodded. "Was she suicidal at the time?"

"According to the known time of her mental instability, yes."

During the Mariemia Incident, soldiers raided the Okinawa base where Severina, Gavin, and Yoshi, as well as their trainers, jets, and Gundam, had been relocated due to White Fang suspicion.

"The relocation drew White Fang attention. They tried to seize Darksaber, but failed. The attack was unknown to everyone, even the original five Gundam pilots

"The leader of the small faction failed to inform his superiors. The reason is unknown, but it is assumed that presenting his superiors with a new Gundam would mean a huge promotion. Also, it's believed that if we pilots found out, we would have the Gundam sent into battle, adding to the threat for Mariemia. That would not have been a possibility; Darksaber was incomplete at the time.

"Gavin and Yoshi were sent to fight against the White Fang. Yoshi successfully eliminated the faction leader before any information was leaked."

_~*Severina's flashback*~_

"Identify the button on the ceiling. The fourth from the front," a trainer directed from one of the screens inside Darksaber's cockpit.

"Emergency saber power generator," Mai yawned.

"Correct. We will be finished after you can tell me how to open and close the hands."

"Press the button on the back of the joystick and slowly release the grip button to open. Slowly squeeze the grip button to close."

"Good. You're done."

"Good," Mai tapped the keyboard, shutting off the screen and all power to the cockpit. She pressed a button on her seat, opening the door.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Gavin was sitting on Darksaber's right arm.

"Pretty good. It's nice having a break from the simulators and being able to be in the actually cockpit. Hey, what's that?" Mai noticed kanji painted on her Gundam's weapon. She read it aloud: "_Hime no Kurayami_."

"Princess of Darkness," Gavin grinned. "I thought it fit you. I painted it on the saber when you were in the cockpit."

"Nifty. Thanks."

"Dawes, report to your jet for simulation," a man announced over the P.A.

"Gotta go," Gavin saluted. He hooked his foot in the pulley and slid down. Mai waited for it to return.

"Ido, report to your jet for simulation," the P.A. made her jump. She waved at Yoshi as he crossed the hangar.

Fukuda stepped onto the pulley, pushing a small, blue button that would keep it from returning. She stepped off at the bottom and headed for the garage.

After changing into a mechanic's suit in her bunk, she headed for the garage housing the base's cars and trucks.

She grabbed tools and opened the convertible's hood.

"Tune up," she stated and got to work.

_~*housing facility living room*~_

"So what about the battle? What actually happened with the car accident?" Kat was getting rather impatient.

"I'm getting to that. With only a few mobile suits left, Gavin's plane was shot down. Yoshi eliminated the remaining suits. At that time, everyone at the base learned that there was a handful of soldiers who had not gone into battle due to shortage of mobile suits," Trowa read, pausing to flip to a new page.

Severina began to mumble again. Quatre flinched in surprise and felt her forehead. "She's a bit warm."

"That's normal in SIA recovery."

"Go on about what happened," Quatre squeezed Severina's hand. 

"After learning about the remaining White Fang members, Severina, with her vengeful personality, and Yoshi went to find the soldiers. It isn't quite known what happened from there, but one eyewitness account recalled a truck full of soldiers being chased by a convertible.

"Not long afterward, Severina was found on the road, barely alive. She had received gunshot wounds in her abdomen and shoulder. The car had crashed into a tree, incinerating Yoshi's body."

Kat walked over to Severina and unbuttoned the unconscious woman's shirt, revealing a circular patch of scar tissue just below her rib cage and a small scar on her stomach. She unbuttoned the rest of the shirt, exposing Severina's bra. She reached over and pulled the left bra strap out of the way, showing another scar.

Quatre checked Severina's temperature again.

"She's burning up," he announced, pushing his chair back. He stood up, and before he walked out, he said, "I'll get some water and washcloths."

_~*Severina's flashback*~_

Mai was finishing the last spark plug when a pair of eyes appeared in the open area under the hood of her car.

"Whoa!" she reeled backward, dropping her ratchet. Gavin slid out from under the car.

"Did I scare you?" he laughed.

"Yeah," Mai panted. She backed up into someone, Yoshi, and jumped again.

"Here, let me get that for you, Mai," he scooped up the ratchet and handed it to her.

"Thanks. I thought simulation would go longer."

"No, we didn't have much to cover," Yoshi shrugged.

Above their head, the alarm went off.

"Shit," Gavin looked up at the flashing red light. Yoshi poked a few buttons on his watch/communicator.

"White Fang attack! We gotta go!"

"What do you mean, _White Fang attack_?" Mai asked in surprise.

"They've found Darksaber!"

Shit, let's go then!" Gavin shouted. He and Yoshi raced off.

"Fuck," Fukuda muttered. She headed for weapons storage, realizing she may have to flee so she could carry out her mission. She grabbed an Uzi, two Glocks, and a radio. She fit the earpiece in her ear and switched the radio on. She picked up the three guns and went back to the garage, putting them in the passenger seat of her car.

Mai shut the hood of her car and hopped into the driver's seat. She started the car and drove to the hangar. She screeched to a halt.

Yoshi and Gavin had already changed into their flight suits and were fitting their helmets on. The shields closed on the jets, enclosing the two pilots in the cockpits. The engines whirred loudly.

"D-1 and D-2, you are both clear for takeoff," the air traffic controller directed as the jets rolled toward the hangar openings.

"Roger."

"Got it."

Both hit the thrusters. The jets raced down the runway, eventually leaving the ground.

"Mai," Instructor H. clapped a hand on his trainee's shoulder. "I want you to stay on the bridge."

"What about Darksaber?"

"There are no soldiers on the ground, but we're afraid White Fang may try to bomb the hangar. The bridge will be the safest place to go."

Mai got out and headed to the air traffic control area, her eyes on the screens.

"Bridge, I've got the faction leader in my sights," Gavin's voice crackled over the radio.

"Fire at first chance," a woman instructed.

On the screen, four missiles were fired from the belly of Gavin's jet. Two of them nicked the mobile suit.

"Commander, all comm. lines open!" a man shouted as Mai got to the bridge.

"D-1, what the hell are you doing?" the commander screamed into her radio.

"I'll give you one chance to surrender," Gavin barked at the mobile suit.

"Damn it, Dawes!" the commander shouted.

"Fuck you," the faction leader replied smugly.

"Well then, sayonara," Gavin released another round.

"Commander, enemy comm. lines closed," the communications station reported.

"Ma'am, the enemy leader has been eliminated!"

"Oh shit," Mai mumbled, her eyes on the screen. "Gavin! Your six!"

"What? Mai, what are you doing on the bridge?"

On your six! _Enemies on your six_!"

Gavin rotated one of his cameras one hundred eighty degrees.

"Damn!" he pulled up on the controls, narrowly dodging a round of missiles.

"Yoshi, help him!" Mai was howling as a missile grazed D-1's wingtip.

"Mayday!" Gavin shouted.

"I'm on my way, buddy!" Yoshi fired before coming to his friend's aid.

"D-1, what's the damage report?"

"Engine two is out – I'm going down fast!"

"Gavin, get out of there!" Mai watched as Yoshi arrived, firing on enemy suits.

A suit prepared to fire. She clutched the microphone next to her mouth, screaming, "Get out of there! Eject! _Eject!_"

"There's no ti-" the screens lit up in a fiery explosion.

"Commander, we've lost all contact with D-1," someone said.

"Commander, we've just learned that there are soldiers who weren't sent into battle!" a woman held up a long strip of paper. "They're in the warehouse on Elmora!"

"This battle isn't over yet, people," the commander put her hands up in the air, gesturing for everyone to calm down. "We'll deal with the other soldiers after the battle is over."

Mai stared blankly at the screen, her lip trembling.

"Fukuda, are you alright?" the commander seemed to be noticing her for the first time. "Fukuda?"

Mai's eyes suddenly became shiny with tears. She screamed and took off in the direction of the hangar.

"Get back here, Fukuda! What if they try to bomb the hangar?" the commander shouted. The Gundam trainee ignored her.

"Doc, we've got a problem," she said into her radio.

"Mai, where are you going?" Instructor H. stepped in front of the enraged Mai. She shoved him aside and grabbed the gun out of her car.

She ran outside, pointing the barrel at the mobile suits flying high above the base. Yoshi blew up a suit.

"_God damn you!_" she screamed and unloaded the gun.

"Mai, that gun won't do anything!" Instructor H's voice shouting through the comm. line didn't faze her. She continued to fire until the gun was empty.

"D-2, retreat," the commander ordered.

"Why?" Yoshi's voice sounded as if he was holding back his tearful rage. "I'm gonna get these two fuckers!"

Within minutes, both suits had been eliminated.

"D-2, you are clear to land," air traffic reported.

"Roger," Yoshi circled around to land, his voice laden with guilt.

Mai, meanwhile, was marching sternly back to her car. She hopped in and took out her keys. She started the engine and floored it, squealing to a stop next to Yoshi's jet.

"Get in," she didn't look away from the pavement. Her friend got in and was greeted with a gun being thrust into his hands. 

Yoshi looked her up and down. Her grimy mechanic suit was staining the seat, which was already tainted blood red from her gunshot wound she had received when she first came to the base. The steering wheel was caked in black grease from her hands. Her hair was askew; sweat dripped down her face, mixing with her tears.

"Where are you two going?" Instructor H. seized a radio from a technician, screaming into it.

"To get the rest of those White Fang bastards," Mai replied. She ripped the radio from her ear and chucked it out of her car. She floored the gas pedal.

"Mai! Get back here!" Instructor H. ran after the car, but it was too late. They were gone.

_~*housing facility living room*~_  
  


"She's quieted down quite a bit," Trowa remarked as Quatre put a cool washcloth on Severina's forehead.

"I know, it's starting to scare me," Quatre watched her still body. "Trowa, do you think she could…"

"No, SIA recovery won't kill her. It shouldn't."

"Hey, what's going on?" Duo and Tom poked their heads through the doorway.

"Severina's SIA recovery," Trowa replied.

"I _thought_ I heard her yelling before," Shinigami walked over to the female pilot and opened an eyelid, peering down into Severina's blank eye.

"She's pretty damn quiet for hollering her head off earlier," Tom remarked.

"I'm starting to worry," Quatre brushed a forelock out of Severina's face. He gasped as her hands shot up and grasped his arm, clutching it as if she was desperate to never let go. Her lips mouth silent words as her eyes flew open and darted about.

Quatre's arm was singing with pain as Severina's nails tore open his skin. He let out another involuntary gasp just before she removed her hands and began scratching her face.

"Severina, _stop!_" Tom shouted as he and Duo pinned her arms down.

"She can't hear you," Trowa said in his normal stoic tone.

"Severina," Quatre's eyes began to water as she stopped struggling. For the first time, he noticed eight very faint white lines running down her face like stripes in the locations that she had scratched at her face. He lifted his friend's upper body while he sat on the couch. He hugged her head to his chest with his right hand while wrapping his left around her.

"What happened after they found her on the road?" Sandrock's pilot asked as he turned the wet washcloth on her forehead.

"She was comatose for eight days. When she woke up, she was even more suicidal and refused to fight, believing that she was to blame for everyone dying around her."

"That doesn't sound like our Princess of Darkness," the God of Death noted. "How'd they take care of that problem?"

"SIA," was all Trowa said.

_~*Severina's flashback*~_

"Where do you think they are?"

For the first time ever, Yoshi was terrified of Mai. He kept his distance in the car.

"Abandoned warehouse on Elmora," she replied, her grip tightening on the steering wheel.

"How do you know?"

"That's what they said on the bridge."

"Oh," Yoshi nodded.

One of Mai's hands came off the wheel and found the cross around her neck. With a quick tug, she ripped it off.

"I don't know how I could believe in such a merciful God after watching everyone else die," she said as she tossed the necklace out onto the street.

Overhead, a red light zoomed by.

"Mai, that was a stoplight."

"I know."

The convertible eventually came upon a large, dilapidated building. A truck engine revved in the alley next to it.

"You think that's them?" Yoshi checked the .9 mm sitting on his seat.

"Yeah," Mai replied. She glanced at her comrade. The last traces of humanity vanished from her eyes. "Hold on."

She floored it, flying around the corner. A man in plain clothes was pulling the warehouse door shut. Upon seeing the two teenagers, mostly Yoshi in his flight suit, he ran for the truck, He cleared the tailgate and landed in the bed amongst seven other soldiers.

The truck sprayed gravel as it took off. Mai didn't even flinch. Her foot dropped to the floor.

"Yoshi," she signaled. She swung around a corner onto a wide street.

"Right," he leaned around the windshield and fired multiple times, taking out six of the eight soldiers in the back. Mai swerved around the bodies.

"Shit," he growled. An enemy bullet took off his side mirror. "I'm out."

"Alright," Mai glanced at the speedometer. The needle was pinned to one-hundred-forty, the highest reading. She hit cruise control and began to climb onto her seat. "Take the wheel."

"Are you _crazy_?" Yoshi shouted. He dove for the steering wheel when she let go and grabbed her gun. 

"Yes," she answered and stood up. A bullet zoomed by her ear.

"Just let _me_ take the damn gun!"

Mai ignored him and took out the soldiers in the truck bed.

"I'll kill you fuckers," she growled, her voice barely audible to Yoshi over the wind. "I'll kill you for killing Gavin."

"Is this what this is about? Mai, he's _dead_! Nothing will bring him back!" Yoshi screamed. In the cab, the passengers cocked their guns.

Mai prepared to fire again when something hot pierced her shoulder. She gasped, clutching her wound. She let her gun fall onto the road, grasping the top of the windshield with her left hand.

Another bullet ripped into her body. Mai felt her bottom right rib shatter as the bullet ricocheted, lodging itself in her abdomen. Groaning, she collapsed on the windshield, her shocked eyes watching Yoshi.

"Mai? Oh my God!" Yoshi noticed the blood running down the windshield. He looked through the red glass and saw Mai's white, pained eyes. He turned his head to look up at the rest of her body slumped over the windshield.

While his head was turned to the side, a bullet shot through the windshield, forming a spider web crack in the glass. The small piece of metal ripped through Yoshi's throat.

And of course, Mai, the girl who believed herself to see all the pain and suffering around her, was conscious at this time, watching the flesh and blood spray as the bullet exited his body.

The young pilot panicked when he heard the air escaping his lungs through his wound. He pressed his hands against the two holes in his throat, not noticing that the car was drifting off the road.

Mai's eyes nearly rolled up into their sockets as she watched the curb coming at them. She tried to move, but all that she could do was use one leg to paddle the air. Her arm twitched uselessly when she tried to signal.

As his lungs started to fill with blood, Yoshi realized what was happening. Taking a bloody hand off his neck, he took the steering wheel and guided the beige convertible back onto the road.

He was reaching for the cruise control button when he passed out. As his body collapsed on the seat, his arm jerked the steering wheel to the right.

Mai's body was thrown from the car. Upon impact with the ground, her left collarbone and hip broke. Her radius and ulna in her right arm, her right femur, and left kneecap shattered as she kept rolling. Skin was ripped off her left hip, her lower back, and her right leg. Her skull fractured when her head slammed against the ground.

She eventually rolled to a stop, face down on the pavement. Blood began to pool below her body.

When Mai flew out of the car, the convertible ramped over a curb and collided with a large oak tree. Gas started leaking from the tank. A spark ignited the fuel, sending the car, Yoshi's body, and the oak up in flames.

The explosion rocked nearby houses and people who were gathering outside. Someone ran off to call the paramedics.

Sirens were wailing in the distance when a white, unmarked van pulled up to the scene. Two men in black clothing and ski masks got out and picked up Mai's limp body. They placed her on a gurney in the back.

The neighborhood residents were in an uproar, rushing the vehicle when the men pulled the back doors closed. The van drove off.

_~*Housing facility living room*~_

"What happened to the White Fang soldiers?" Quatre was still holding Severina's body.

"They got away. Luckily, they knew nothing of Darksaber," Trowa replied.

"What did they tell her after SIA?" Kat asked.

"Very little. They didn't even tell her what her real name was. She was told that she had been thrown from her car when she was shot, but she was never informed that Yoshi perished.

"She was told that she had trained alongside Gavin and Yoshi, but her superiors refused to tell her what happened. In her mind, they had been transferred to another base.

"She was informed that she had been abandoned as an infant and was taken in by one of her trainers.

"She recalled everything about Darksaber after her trainers ran her through everything once."

"So basically," said Duo, "she could recall anything they told her."

"For a certain things, her memory was allowed a certain amount of time, such as her past. The report indicates that she questioned them, feeling as though she was being lied to. But after seventy-two hours, her memories were unable to be recovered. But when time ran out after being told false information, she was unable to know even her own name, no matter how hard she tried.

"Other things that she was never informed of after SIA, however, she could recall at the drop of a hat, like piloting Darksaber."

"That doesn't make much sense," Tom remarked.

"Think of it as building walls. Instructor H. and his assistants built walls around certain memories. The walls couldn't be knocked down after seventy-two hours. Memories that she had never been told of, or rather, didn't have 'walls' around them could be recalled easily."

"What about the SIA injections afterward?" Quatre asked. "How could they tell when she needed them?"

"She would begin to have migraines and could suddenly recall her name.

"When she began to remember, they gave her weaker doses at three points in her body so the drug wouldn't reach her brain all at once.

"Due to the fact that the doses were weaker, she recalled everything she had been told after the initial shot, but didn't realize nearly all of her past was being kept from her."

_~*Severina's flashback*~_

Mai stared at the ceiling, her eyes filled with anger and sadness.

Her arms were strapped to he bedrails. The IV tube was taped to her upper arm, as was the oxygen mask to her face. Gauze crisscrossed her head, covering her cranial injuries. Much of her body was covered by casts.

"Hello, Mai," Instructor H. walked into the room. "I heard you've been quite a bit of trouble for these doctors and nurses."

Mai's eyes didn't shift.

"Unhooking your IV and life support… tsk, tsk."

"My body was malnourished without the IV fluid. I couldn't breathe without oxygen being forced into my lungs," Mai finally spoke. "Yet when I took away both, I didn't die. I hadn't breathed for five minutes. And yet, they performed CPR, and I'm fine."

"You don't exactly _look_ fine," her trainer knocked on the cast of her upper right leg. "You _were_ in a coma for eight days, after all."

He unstrapped the young girl's arm restraints. She didn't move her limbs once they were removed.

"Why did you try to kill yourself?"

"I just want to die. But I can't," Mai responded coldly. Instructor H, who was beginning to take interest in the view outside the window, did a double take.

"_What?_"

"I was not murdered when the rest of my family was. I was shot in the leg and lost so much blood I should have died. But I don't even walk with a limp anymore. I watched both of my best friends, my only friends, die before my eyes just moments before being thrown from a car. And again, I wasn't killed. I tried to starve my body, deprive it of oxygen. Yet I'm still alive."

Her eyes misted as she looked at her doctor.

"I just want to die."

"Well, you haven't," Instructor H. stated matter-of-factly.

"But everyone around me has…" she whispered. That simple realization made her crack.

One hand shot up and grabbed the instructor's lab coat as she desperately tried to sit up in her bed.

"They can't kill me! I can't die!" she howled over and over. "I can't die! I can't die! I can't die!"

It was then that her doctor backhanded her. She was silent, but she trembled. Her hand, still clutching Instructor H's lab coat, was trembling badly. The instructor regained his composure and stood straight.

"What do you want me to do about it?" he squeezed her uninjured arm, trying to get her to let go.

Her arm did not drop away, but she eased back a little. Her right eye, which was not covered by the gauze, traveled his young face before quickly looking away.

"Kill me," her voice was soft. "I won't fight, so just kill me. Please."

"No," Instructor H. responded without hesitation. "You are not exendable like Gavin or Yoshi."

The young woman stared silently for a moment before letting herself fall back completely. She released her grip on Dr. Mokoto's coat and dragged her fingernails over her face, tearing the skin open.

"What the hell are you doing?" the doctor shouted. "Nurse!"

"How dare you say that my friends – my _brothers_ – are expendable!" she screamed through her fingers.

A nurse rushed in and helped him bond Mai's arms. Once the straps were on, the pilot stopped thrashing. Eight bloody lines ran vertically down her face. As the red liquid began to trickle down her face, she glanced at her trainer.

"I know I won't have scars from this."

"Well, the scars and missing flesh from your skin grafts will be enough memorabilia."

"Why don't you just unhook my IV for me again? I'm not going to fight; I'll only kill everyone around me. I have no use to you."

"Very well, then," Dr. K pressed the button for the intercom on the wall.

"Yes, sir?" a woman answered.

"We'll be using her as a test subject, after all. Send in the fluid."

"Hey, what the fuck do you plan on doing to me?" Mai shouted from her bed.

"I'll send it in right away, sir," the nurse said in a cheery tone.

"What are you gonna do, you bastard?"

"Thank you," Instructor H. said into the intercom, ignoring Mai. After the nurse had signed off, he turned to his trainee, removing her hospital gown.

"Get your hands off me!" Fukuda screamed. "_Rape!_ _RAPE_!"

"Nobody believes a delusional young suicidal girl such as you, dear," the beady-eyed instructor smiled, but didn't touch her after removing the gown. "This is my hospital, after all. I run the entire base. And I have no intentions of raping you."

Mai lifted up her right leg and swung it hard. The side of the cast on her shin struck Instructor H. in the chest, sending him flying backward.

He slammed into the wall, grunting as the wind was knocked out of him, but he merely twitched his nose and musctache and grinned as he drew in his breath again.

"I don't intend to rape you," he reiterated. "You are fierce, but unfortunately, you refuse to fight. I've decided to use you as a test subject for a new drug. It affects the subject's mentality so that they no longer have a sense of humanity. You will obey every order given to you."

"Kinda sounds like a robot," Mai sneered. Her head snapped to the door as another doctor and two nurses entered.

"Is the subject ready?" a nurse asked.

"No, I'm _not_ ready!" the pilot shouted angrily. "You can keep that shit away from me!"

"She's about as ready as she'll ever be," Instructor H. took a syringe filled with purple liquid from the other doctor. "Let's get this over with."

The doctors and nurses pinned down Mai's legs and head. Dr. Mokoto pressed down on her stomach, the only area able to be injected because it had the least amount of injuries.

"The less you struggle, the less it will hurt," he said calmly.

"Get the fuck away! Keep that shit away!" she snarled.

Mokoto stuck the needle in Mai's abdomen. He depressed the plunger, ejecting the fluid into her system.

After removing the syringe, he dismissed the nurses.

"It will take approximately one minute before the drug circulates through her body," the other doctor said. Dr. Mokoto nodded.

Within a minute, Mai began to stop yelling. She tensed as waves of cramps coursed through her entire body. When she finally fell back on the pillow, her lifeless eyes seemed duller than ever. Her heart rate dropped rapidly. Her breathing slowed.

Finally, her eyes regained their liveliness that they had retained years ago. Years before she heard the gunshots that murdered her family, years before she watched her sister's blood and brains paint her bedroom window red.

"Wha… What's going on?" she looked around with all the wonder and curiosity of a toddler.

"Doctor…" Instructor H. whispered, "the drug failed."

"It must have given her amnesia instead."

"This can still be used to our advantage," Mai's doctor turned back to the girl, covering her with her hospital gown. "Do you remember anything at all about the crash?"

"What crash? I don't even know who anybody is, not even me."

"Your name is Yamato Severina. You are the pilot of the Gundam Darksaber, You were thrown from your car and have been in a coma for eight days."

"What's a Gundam?" Mai tried to sit up in her bed, but fell back when the restraints caught her wrists.

"You'll find out when you get your casts off and are rehabilitated. But for now, you must relearn the inside of the cockpit as well as battle maneuvers and techniques."

_~*housing facility living room*~_

"So how did they get her to fight after SIA?" Duo wondered aloud.

"Immediately after the first SIA injection, the subject's personality seems almost programmable. Severina obeyed her orders and retrained to pilot Darksaber. She was exposed to images of battles from the Eve War and the Mariemia Incident.

"Instructor H. saw that the amnesia would work far better than lack of humanity, what the drug was intended to do. He decided to let her retain a sense of compassion, small compared to what her compassion was before, so she would be able to blend in with the general public. People tend to notice people with no humanity," Trowa answered.

"Yeah, Heero always stands out in a crowd," Kat remarked.

"But why?" Quatre turned away from Severina to look at the Heavyarms pilot.

"Yeah, why would they want her out in public?" Tom questioned.

"Because," said Trowa, "she would easily be able to pick off White Fang soldiers at a rally or passing by, should a plainclothes soldier be out in public. Most would never the second Darksaber pilot to also be female; women pilots are hard to come by."

"Quatre?" Severina mumbled and shook her head to one side.

"It looks like she's regaining her senses," Quatre looked at her.

"Be careful, as I said before," Barton warned, "She may not know what's going on."

_~*Severina's flashback*~_

"Mai, have you finished reading the original Operation Meteor plans?" Instructor H. asked through the intercom.

"Yes," Mai, now Severina, answered.

"Good. Now you will know what signs to look for in White Fang suit formation should they attempt it again. Preparations for colony entry begin at 0600 hours tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," the trainee's voice seemed to indicate that she wasn't thinking of her mission.

"Sir… who is Fukuda Mai?"

"Where did you hear that name?" the short instructor was calm, but he glanced at his SIA doctor.

"I don't know, it just popped into my head."

"Do you have a headache?"

Severina's eyebrow was quirked as she replied, "How do you know?"

"Severina, come with me, please. Prep. training is over for the night," Instructor H. instructed. He walked out of the room.

"Permission to reengage Darksaber in its brace?"

"Go ahead," a director on the bridge replied.

"Roger. Commencing engagement," Severina carefully guided her Gundam into its brace, its heavy metal feet causing the hangar to tremor as it shuffled toward its steel case.

The young woman shut down her suit and undid her harness. When she walked onto the platform and grabbed the pulley, she spotted Instructor H. standing by the hangar doorway.

"What is it?" she asked as she was being lowered to the floor. Once at the bottom, she switched the pulley return to _off_.

"I want you to come with me. You never get headaches," he turned to the hallway and began to walk toward the hospital. "Do you happen to have a large, bright light blocking your vision?"

"Yeah," Severina jogged to catch up.

"Then it's definitely a migraine. We'll use the proper medications," the instructor guided her into a room. Once he closed the door, four large men attacked Severina.

"Hey! What the fuck?" she shouted in surprise. She struggled as the large male nurses stripped her down to her bra and underwear, tossing her flight suit aside.

"Sir, the syringes have been prepared," one nurse said as he helped strap Severina down.

"Very good," Instructor H. picked up a vat containing three syringes filled with weak SIA fluid.

"No!" Severina gasped as the sight of the syringes sparked her memory. "No! You bastards! Let me out of here! Let me _go_!"

Instructor H. injected a needle in her side, acting as though he didn't hear. He waited until she had stopped thrashing before administering the second dose in her outer left thigh.

Severina seemed to be in a complete stupor when he injected the third and last needle into her jugular in her neck.

"Dress her!" he barked at the nurses. They quickly unstrapped her and dressed her in her flight suit.

When Severina's eyes began to clear, the nurses set her back on the table.

"State your name and purpose," Instructor H. ordered as he stepped before her. She looked up at him dazedly.

"Yamato Severina, pilot of the Gundam Darksaber. My mission is to wipe out the White Fang enemy and protect innocent civilians."

"Very good. You were just treated for a serious migraine. Do you recall anything from the last ten minutes?

"I remember everything until the end of my training."

"Do you remember everything before that?"

"I believe so."

Two days later, Severina was watching the final preparations being made on her Gundam. A needle was draining IV fluid into her body as a source of nourishment.

"How much longer should I let this go for?" she asked her dietician.

"Did you eat the entire meal prepared for you?" the woman checked the IV level.

"Yes."

"Then you will get even more energy than with just this. Give it another minute or two."

"Right," Severina nodded. Doctors were buzzing around her, attaching life monitor patches to her chest and temples.

"Yamato-san, your wardrobe has been packed in the storage compartment with food and water," an assistant reported.

"Arigatou."

"All systems up and running perfectly," a technician shouted from his station.

"Good," said Instructor H, "Severina, are you prepared?"

"Yes," Severina replied, taking the needle out of her arm. She zipped up her flight suit and stood up, slowly walking toward the transport shuttle that held hers and Quatre's  Gundams.

At the pulley, she hooked her foot in the stirrup. The rope pulled her up to the platform.

"Shit," she breathed nervously. She sat down in her seat and put on her helmet, which had been sitting on the keyboard.

After fastening the harness, she closed the cockpit door. Severina's heart was pounding. She glanced nervously at the cockpit window and the computer board below it.

"Darksaber, commence operations," Instructor H. said through the comm. line.

"Roger."

"Prepare for launch."

"Roger," Yamato waited until she felt the force of the launcher to which her craft was attatched to before grabbing the steering device.

"Darksaber, you are clear for takeoff, engage thrusters." The air traffic controller reported.

"Roger. Turning on thrusters," the young woman tapped two buttons and pushed the joystick completely forward.

Severina sped off into space, heading for colony L2-X1988. _(In GWD chapter one Severina said that she had Quatre's Gundam) _

"This is Darksaber. I will sever communication transmissions in ten seconds.

"Roger. Good luck," Instructor H saluted on the screen.

"Thank you. Out," Severina said. She shut off her comm. line microphone, but kept her lines open to listen to the voices crackling on the Preventer frequencies.

"This is Quatre," one pilot's voice rang clearly through the static. "Preparing for L2-X1988****entry."

"The great Quatre Raberba Winner," Severina settled back in her seat. For the first time she could remember, she smiled.

_~*housing facility living room*~_

Severina's eyelids were fluttering. Quatre, who had let her lie back down, was sitting next to her, watching eagerly.

"She's coming out of it," Trowa stated. Duo, Kat, and Tom stood by, ready to restrain her.

"Mmf," Severina muttered as her eyelids slid open. She gazed at everyone before finally mumbling, "Those flashbacks give you one hell of a migraine."

"Glad to see that you're awake," Duo commented.

"Amen to that," Kat agreed.

"What time is it?" Yamato yawned. "How long was I out?"

"You were in that state for about half an hour," Tom replied as he looked at his watch.

"Half an hour? I've gotta get to the spaceport!" she tried to sit up, but Quatre held her down with a gentle hand.

"You're not going anywhere. I don't want anything happening to you," he grabbed her hand. For a long moment, there was a pause, and everyone in the room could feel the connection between them.

Severina was the first to look away.

"I don't care," she finally sighed. "It's not like I have any place to go. My whole life's a lie, anyway."

"Well, what are you going to do?" Kat asked.

"I suppose I'm just going to start over," a half-smile crept onto her face, a smile that let her pain show through. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a nap."

Her green eyes were again lidded as she let out a heavy sigh. Within moments, she was asleep.

"If you're not letting her go," Duo wondered, "how long are you going to keep her here with you?"

"Until she gets away," Quatre tried to be funny, though he knew that he sounded miserable. But honestly, didn't care.

**The End**


End file.
